Life, Death, Rebirth
by catilena1890
Summary: One turns to the life she once rejected. The other rejects the life she once knew. When they meet, Aldith and Celeste will discover there is more to life and death as they face new enemies and tackle new challenges together to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. Sequel to Lola: An Underdog Story
1. Prologue

Before my life began, my mother lived hers to the fullest. She and her Rhyhorn dominated the racing circuit all over the Kalos region. She was adored by fans the world over, and she in turn appreciated them. One fan was special to her though. He was present for every race, and he volunteered to be a bodyguard in public places so she would be safe. She had allowed him to take her to dinner, and from that moment on, my mother and father were inseparable.

When I was born though, things got rough. Dear old dad had it in his mind that once a woman marries and has a kid, she's supposed to stay home to raise the children while the man went out to get a paycheck. For many families, this works. Motherhood is a rewarding job on its own, and nothing can sever the bond between mother and child. Not my mother though. She did care for me, but she couldn't give up her old life easily. Mom and Dad fought about this constantly, and for most of my infancy, their soft voices and tenderness were reserved only for me, treating each other like dirt while they raised their voices to each other.

When I was 5, Dad left us. He just could not deal with my mother's independence anymore, and his ideals were more important than we were. It was at this point my mother gave up Rhyhorn Racing full-time in order to care for me. I know what you're thinking, this is the part where she starts abusing me and blaming me for ruining her life, right? Wrong. The bond between mother and child is very strong, and almost nothing can break it. Unfortunately though, there are a few things that CAN drive a mother to do terrible things to her child. Giving up a dream that you already achieved is not one of them. At least, not in this case.

When I was 8, Mom tried to teach me how to race just like her. Her Rhyhorn wasn't very cooperative though. He threw me off every chance he got, and would evade my mom when she tried to fit him with the starter saddle. When I think about it, he probably did that to protect us. He wanted to make sure Mom didn't try to turn me into her so she could continue to live her dream through me, and he wanted to make sure I wouldn't be stuck in her shadow. After everything I've gone through with my new friends, I know how smart pokemon really are, and how loving they can be.

At 10, I was allowed to get a pokemon and begin my journey, but I didn't want to. See, I didn't know then that Rhyhorn was just trying to help me, all I knew was that pokemon were wild, unpredictable scary things that threw you around until you went flying into mud. I turned my back on them, but I didn't want to admit it to my mother. So I didn't. Mom and I fought about this for many years, but neither of us wanted to give in to the other.

At 15 I just couldn't take the fighting anymore. I went to Lumiose City under the guise that I'd go get my first pokemon from the Professor, but instead I went right to the train station and hitched a ride to Coumarine City and purchased a ticket to the ferry that was leaving the soonest. I arrived in Castelia City soon after, and I never looked back. At least, not until I met him.

At 16 I was making my way back to my apartment after getting groceries, and there was a gathering at the square. A group of people dressed up as knights were surrounding a tall old man with green hair and a red electronic eye. He spoke of pokemon being abused by humans, being forced to do things they hated, and he was asking people to help support his group's cause of freeing them from humans. I listened to his words, and I thought that everything made sense. I thought Rhyhorn was mean to me just to be mean, but back then I thought I realized he was just fighting against being controlled. It was never his idea to be in races, was it? My mom could be pretty controlling, and it occurred to me that she might have forced him. I stepped up and volunteered to join this cause so that pokemon wouldn't have to suffer anymore. After meeting with their "king", I was given a baby Purrloin, and I was accepted into Team Plasma.

At 17, our king N succeeded in not only awakening Zekrom, but winning him over. I was elated to know that everything I had worked so hard to achieve was coming to fruition, but there was something not right here. Team Plasma was all about separating pokemon and humans because it was impossible for the two to co-exist, and yet my partner and I couldn't bear the thought of being separated. My Liepard and I built a strong relationship during my time in Team Plasma, he was my closest friend. I was confused by my conflicting ideals, but I pushed this worry to the back of my mind and kept going. And then a trainer named Carina rose up with Reshiram and confronted N and Zekrom, and when she came out on top and Ghetsis revealed his true motives, I was relieved and angry. I was happy that Romeo and I would never have to worry about being separated, but infuriated that I had been lied to, and that everything I did to help pokemon was actually HURTING them instead. Romeo and I quit Team Plasma, and we left it all behind to find our own ideals.

At 18, I was approached by Rood of the Seven Sages, and at first I was distrustful of him. But he asked me to hear him out and he told me that he still believed in N, and he was working to make things right in Unova again. He needed help to return as many of the stolen pokemon to their trainers as he could, and I agreed to help him. I rejoined Team Plasma, the one that N envisioned, and Romeo and I were at Rood's beck and call. At some point during our work, we found out Ghetsis had reconstructed his forces, daring to call themselves by our name. It was then I decided to pay him back, and with Rood's blessing, Romeo and I infiltrated the new Team Plasma, intending to take it down from the inside. I made reports to Rood about Ghetsis' movements and plans, and I learned that there was someone else who was standing against him. A young girl by the name of Vixen had gotten involved in the fight, and for reasons I wasn't sure of at the time Ghetsis was trying to do everything in his power to destroy her. I was approached by Colress, who found me out, and worked with him to make sure that Vixen would be safe and Team Plasma would pay. After many tears and hardships, after licking our wounds, Ghetsis was FINALLY stopped, and Vixen ensured he would never again be a threat to Unova.

I am 19 now. I have been close friends with Vixen for a year now. At her urging, I left Team Plasma altogether, and I visited her at the Pokemon League all the time. She convinced Caitlin of the Elite 4 to make sure I was mentally healthy after all the strife I've been through, and for a time, all was well. I still felt lost though. Even though the crimes I committed in Team Plasma no longer haunted me, I still felt like something was missing in my life. I was a little jealous of Vixen as I watched her and her team get stronger every day, working towards the goals that Grimsley laid out for her. They knew exactly where they were going in life, and all I had was my Liepard.

"Maybe you should go on a journey too? I didn't find myself until I met Lola and traveled around Unova." Vixen had told me once. She worried about me, and I hated it. The poor thing had gone through so much already, and even though I had only known her for a short time, I found I couldn't bear seeing her distressed, especially for my sake. But to go on a journey now? Could I really do that even though I rejected the offer years ago?

Well, Carina was 18 when she started out. 19 really isn't that much older, right? Maybe I will take Vixen's advice after all. But I wouldn't stay here in Unova. No, too much has happened here for me to travel in Unova. Even though I no longer associated with Team Plasma, barring my interactions with Colress, I knew I still left a bitter taste in the mouthes of Unovans. I stole pokemon from people back before I knew what Team Plasma was really all about, and some of them had yet to make it back. It wouldn't be right for me to ask the region to forgive me for it.

I've been away from home long enough. If Vixen and I could trade places, I knew she would in a heartbeat. As kind as Grimsley and Shauntal were to her, Vixen would give anything to see her mom again, and to continue to ignore my own was an insult to the strong little girl with the gentle Hydreigon.

It is time for me to begin the journey I refused to go on. To answer the call I had ignored. To face the past I worked so hard to run away from. My name is Aldith, and from this point on, my quest to conquer the Kalos League and find my place in this world has begun.

* * *

TBC

I've decided to go ahead and get the sequel up so that I could get FF's annoying "please accept our terms and conditions even though we haven't changed anything in years" prompt out of the way.

As soon as Lola concludes, I'll get working on Chapter 1, and we'll get started on our adventure through Kalos! Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to use an actual playthrough of the game for reference, which means I'll be relying on memory, bulbapedia, and serebii for guidance. That'll be fine since I have been doing a lot of Lola from scratch, but feel free to pitch in and remind me of what happens next canonically and whatnot, mkay?

Enjoy!


	2. Chapter 1: Going Home

Author's Note:

If you are a new reader, then thank you so much for taking a look at my story! You might want to read the fanfic that came before this though, called Lola: An Underdog Story, since this will reference some events that happened there, not to mention spoil the ending of that fic. If you don't care about spoilers or have already read Lola, then enjoy! And don't worry, I didn't always start my chapters with a note, and I won't start now.

* * *

"_Attention Passengers, we will be arriving at our destination shortly. Please gather your things and be ready to disembark._"

"You hear that Aldith? We're almost there! You excited to be going home?" Vixen asked, turning away from the loudspeaker and beaming at me. I smiled at her and gave her a curt nod, trying to look cheerful when inside, it felt like I had a swarm of Butterfree in my stomach.

It's been over 4 years since I ran away from home, almost 5. I haven't seen or heard from my mother, or anyone in Kalos for that matter, since I boarded the boat to Castelia City. Little did I know that when I left, I'd get caught up in a terrorist organization that threatened the entire Unova region, and challenged everything I thought I knew about pokemon.

After Vixen put down Ghetsis and destroyed Team Plasma once and for all, I felt empty. What was I going to do now? Despite Vixen's pleas to get me to challenge the league, I wasn't entirely sure of myself.

_"Come on Aldith, what's stopping you from taking Romeo around Unova and doing gym battles?" Vixen asked as she laid on Lola, looking at me from over the Hydreigon's head._

_"Do you really want me to answer that? I can think of three good reasons right now why taking on the Unova League is a bad idea for me." I replied, petting Romeo and letting my gaze drift to the TV in her room. I heard her sigh, and felt the bed dip behind me._

_"I'm just trying to help, you know. You can try to deny it all you want, but we all can tell you are confused and lost and miserable. If you don't want to do it here, then why not go to another region? I'm telling you, a journey to collect badges will help you a lot." She told me. I smiled and shifted on the bed, laying down and looking up at her beside me._

_"I'm not disagreeing, I do have one place in mind but…." I started, letting my sentence hang in the air._

_"But?" Vixen asked, prodding me to finish. I frowned and turned my gaze to the chandelier on the purple ceiling, counting the crystals that hung down from it._

_"Well, it's just that, I…..I'm sorry Vixen but I would have to do something before I tried to take on the Kalos league." I responded. Vixen rested her hand on my belly while Romeo curled up beside me, purring softly._

_"Worried about what your mom would think?" She asked. I nodded at the ceiling, a lump in my throat preventing me from saying anything else._

_"Yeah, I know that feeling. I felt that when I went to challenge Grimsley. Aldith?" She said as the sound of the TV stopped._

_"Yes?" I replied, looking at her warm smile._

_"What if I went with you? You were a great source of support for me when we went through Victory Road and through each of the Elite Four, I'd consider it a favor if you let me do the same for you." She offered, making me blink at her. I sat up and folded my legs, resting my hands in my lap as I looked at her in surprise._

_"But, what about your training? Even if we borrowed Reshiram and Zekrom, you'd be gone for at least a week, if not more." I said, making her snort._

_"My dad is still in his prime, and so are the rest of the Unova Elite Four. They're not going to retire in the week or so I'll be gone, and I can pick up my training on the way. This is more important. Come on, let me come with you." She replied to me. I sighed in defeat and reached out to pull her into my lap, hugging her tightly._

_"Alright, you win Vixy. We'll both go to Kalos." I relented, making her chuckle._

_"Good. Lola's already looking forward to it."_

After that conversation, we began making preparations for the trip to Kalos. We opted to sail, rather than fly over, since a cruise would help relax me more than flying on a dragon would. Colress offered to sail us over himself with the Frigate, until we pointed out the sail and how Team Plasma's emblem would freak everyone out.

A week later, Vixen and I boarded a cruise ship, the _Sea Florges_, and waved at everyone as we left Castelia Port. It was just me and Vixen again, just like when she first asked me to go to the pokemon league with her. Grimsley and Shauntal wanted to come with us, but it would take us a week just to get to Coumarine City, and then there was the matter of getting back to Aquacorde town from there. Even Iris couldn't suspend the challenge that long.

But that was just fine, Vixen and I were happy enough on our own. She and I relaxed the whole trip while our pokemon wandered the ship, though her Typhlosion, Sorrel, mostly preferred the comforts of his pokeball. Vixen told me that even as a Quilava he hated the open ocean, and boats made him nervous.

When Coumarine City pulled into view, I gulped audibly and gripped my backpack strap tightly. It was almost like I was retracing my steps. The last time I had been here, I had come in a rage. I was so angry at my mother for all the fighting and all the training she forced on me, I couldn't wait to leave. I winced and gritted my teeth as the memories of my arguments with her came flooding back after all these years.

Suddenly, I felt a pressure on my other hand, and turned to see Vixen had grabbed it and squeezed tightly, giving me a sad, though reassuring smile while her Key Stone shined in the sunlight. The boat docked, and I smiled back at her and adjusted my backpack, keeping a solid grip on her hand as I led her off the ship.

"It'll be okay Aldith, I'll be right here with you." She said as we walked through the crowd.

Upon making it out of the port, Vixen looked around her in wonder, amazed by the sights and sounds around us. I couldn't help but chuckle at her childlike spirit, though it was nice to know she retained some of her innocence despite the harshness of what she went through last year.

"What's that Aldith?" She asked, pointing at a dark blue cat pokemon that had some white on it.

"That's a male Meowstic." I replied.

"And that one?" She asked, pointing at a gray and white, orange-headed bird in a tree.

"A Fletchling." I answered again, a smile making its way onto my face.

"What about that one?" She asked, pointing at a small pokemon that held a flower. I furrowed my brow at it and tilted my head.

"That's a Floette, but it's an odd looking one. I've never seen a blue bodied one before, and the flower it's carrying is different too." I said. The Floette turned to me and smiled, nodding before it floated away.

"Maybe it was a shiny one?" Vixen suggested as we started walking again.

"No, I don't think so, I've heard that shiny Floette have purple bodies, and besides, they normally only perch on a very specific kind of flower." I replied, turning my head to look at the tree where the Floette once was.

"Well, it was still kind of pretty, I can't help but think it looked a little sad though." Vixen said.

"Yeah…." I agreed. When we got to the monorail station, I stopped us so that we could plan our next move.

"So, do we ride the monorail back to your hometown or should we fly?" Vixen asked.

"Aquacorde is quite a ways away from Coumarine, I doubt even Sarah could fly that far in one go. I think our best bet to to just fly to Lumiose City and catch a train there. Let me think on it." I said, closing my eyes to try and remember which direction Lumiose was.

'_East._'

I opened my eyes and looked around briefly, but I couldn't see anything. Vixen made a curious sound, but I decided against telling her about the strange sensation I felt. She was excited for this trip, and I didn't want to ruin it by telling her I may or may not have heard a voice.

"I'm trying to get our bearings, we need to go East to get to Lumiose." I told her instead.

"Oh in that case, let me look it up. I've got a compass app on my X-Transceiver." Vixen said, holding up her wrist with the device on it. She tapped a few times on the touchscreen, studying it closely before nodding and putting her arm down.

"Alrighty, then shall we get going?" She asked, tossing up a pokeball. Her Salamence, Sarah, appeared in front of us with an excited screech, her Salamencite glinting on the collar I had made for her.

"She can carry both of us? Are you sure?" I asked her in return. She laughed at me as she leapt on Sarah, her legs dangling over the sides of her neck.

"She flies around comfortably with Sorrel on her back, and he's arguably heavier than both of us. Get on and let's go." She barked. I chuckled and obliged, climbing up behind her and wrapping my arms around her chest.

"Ready to go. Are you going to Mega Evolve her?" I asked. Vixen leaned down to rub Sarah's neck as the dragon turned.

"Sarah, go this way, we're looking for a big city." She commanded.

"It'll be bigger than Castelia and it has a large white tower in the middle of it." I added. Sarah nodded and leapt into the air, her wings pumping hard to pick up speed. Vixen leaned back and gestured for me to lean down, and her mouth moved to my ear.

"No, it wouldn't be a good idea to ride her while she's Mega Evolved. She's too fast to be ridden safely, if we didn't get pulled off of her, our necks or some other bones would snap from it." She said, speaking over the wind force. I nodded and closed my eyes, holding onto her tightly as Sarah continued to climb.

When I felt we had stopped ascending, I took a chance and carefully opened my eyes, sighing in relief when I found that I could see well enough. I looked around and smiled as the Kalos region presented itself below us. I nudged Vixen's head with my chin and chuckled.

"Vixen, look." I urged. She opened her eyes and joined me in my sight-seeing, her mouth opening in awe.

Below us, fields of flowers and grasses sprawled out across the landscape. Trees dotted the land, sometimes coming together to make a small forest, while rivers ran elegantly through the land, feeding the trees and flowers that we saw. There were some other dots moving around, and I guessed that they were pokemon moving about. We turned our attention to a screech behind us, and we saw a flock of Fletchling and their evolved form Flechinder pull up behind us. Two of the Fletchling flew up to us and chirped questioningly, and when I held an arm out to them, they landed on my outstretched arm and beamed at me. I jerked my arm up and they flew off to rejoin their flock, which descended to the land below, likely returning home.

"This is beautiful, I wish Lola could see this." Vixen said after awhile.

"Why not call her out so she can?" I asked. Vixen shook her head and leaned into me.

"She can't quite keep up with Sarah's speed, if she were to try it would tire her out pretty quickly. She'll get a chance to see it when I make my way back to Coumarine to head home." She said, and I sighed as I hugged her. I didn't really enjoy hearing that after I had made my peace with my mother, Vixen would leave me. I didn't want her to, but I understood that she had to. Unova was her home, and the pokemon league was her family and her destiny. She had no reason to stay in Kalos when she had so much going for her in Unova. With a heavy heart, I leaned forward with Vixen and called out to Sarah.

"Sarah, can you go faster? I wanna get to Lumiose as quickly as possible." I yelled up at her. Sarah rumbled under us, and I held Vixen tighter while she held onto Sarah's neck. The Salamence roared as she beat her wings, and we picked up speed.

Within half an hour, Sarah slowed down enough to let us open our eyes, and Lumiose City was in our sight. Vixen's eyes widened in wonder as Prism Tower came into view. It stood tall and proud, maintaining vigil over the bustling city. As we got closer, I leaned down on Sarah again.

"Look for some train tracks and land in front of the building where they come from." I told her. Sarah's head began to swivel as she carried out my request while Vixen and I aided in her search.

"There's some! Over there, Sarah!" Vixen called out, pointing at something in the distance. We leaned down and closed our eyes again as Sarah dove down in the direction Vixen pointed, and within seconds we hit the ground. I heard heavy breathing and opened my eyes to see it was coming from the poor Salamence. Vixen and I dismounted from her and she collapsed where she stood. We walked over to her head and knelt down, petting her gently.

"Thanks so much for bringing us all this way Sarah, are you going to be alright?" I asked her. The dragon lifted her head and gave me a toothy smile as she continued to pant.

"She'll be alright, but I'm glad we didn't try to fly all the way to Aquacorde. This was about her limit I think." Vixen said, kissing the top of Sarah's head and then recalling her.

"Maybe we should have asked Carina and Ra ra to come with us after all…" I said quietly. I felt a hand on my back, and turned to see Vixen smiling at me.

"No, that wouldn't be a good idea. I DID bring Yuyu with me, but Kalos is not Unova. I doubt people would be as relaxed around a legendary pokemon here as they are back home." She said, and I rolled my eyes as I stood up.

"Vixen, even Unova wouldn't be overly relaxed at the sight of Yuyu. Remember, his legend says he's got a penchant for eating people." I pointed out. Vixen snorted and crossed her arms.

"They're learning though. They saw him when I challenged Iris, and other challengers have caught glimpses of him when they came to take on the league." She told me. I chuckled as I grabbed her hand, pulling us into the train station. The crowds inside the station were so intense, Vixen tightened her grip on my hand so we wouldn't get separated, and she growled low under her throat.

"What's the matter? Claustrophobic?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"No. I can't see. I hate being small." She said bitterly, and I had to resist the urge to laugh.

"Don't worry, I know where to go, just keep holding my hand." I told her. She said nothing as I led her through until we got to the counter. I approached the attendant with a smile, nodding my head at her.

"Hi, when's the next train to Aquacorde Town?" I asked. The attendant smiled as she pulled up the info on her computer.

"It'll leave in about 10 minutes, it'll board in 5." She replied.

"Alright then, may we have two tickets please?" I asked. The woman smiled and nodded as she began to type on her computer.

"Certainly, may I see your trainer cards?" She asked. I shook my head and pushed Vixen's hand down as she went to retrieve hers.

"Sorry, I don't have one, and my friend's is not certified for the Kalos league." I replied The woman nodded as she typed the info into her computer.

"Alright then, in that case, I'm afraid I'll have to take direct cash." She said as our total came up on the screen. I winced at the price, and let go of Vixen's hand to remove my backpack to fish out some money when a wad of bills appeared in my face. I blinked and looked to see Vixen offering me the money with a grin.

"Being the adopted daughter of an aristocrat has its perks, not to mention I have a ton of money in my own bank from my inheritance. Go on, take it." She urged. I smiled and took the money from her, and I heard a disgusted sound in front of me, turning to the attendant who was glaring at us.

"Is there a problem?" I asked. The woman glared furiously as I started to count out the money.

"Oh no, there's no problem. There's absolutely nothing wrong with letting a child pay for you because you're too lazy to work. Platform 5." I rolled my eyes and held the bills out to her, and she snatched them out of my hand and angrily gave me the two tickets. Vixen and I turned away and began to walk, but Vixen pulled me back and stopped, gesturing at the attendant with her eyes.

"You know what I liked about meeting new people, Aldith?" She asked loudly, and I smirked as I understood what she was about to do.

"What's that, Vixen?" I asked, playing along. She started grinning and crossed her arms smugly.

"I love hearing their stories. There is only so much you can gather about a person by looking at them, but to really get to know them, you should talk to them. You never know who they could be. They could be a gym leader or a police officer, or even a champion." She said, and out of the corner of my eye I saw the attendant glaring at us.

"Hey now, you're not the champion. You were really close, but the Unova champion just barely overtook your Hydreigon and your legendary pokemon. But that's okay, at least they're training you to be one of the Unova Elite Four one day." I replied, and I saw the attendant grow pale.

"Ha, at least I'm not a convicted felon. Come on, what's your body count, Aldith?" She retorted, and I had a hard time keeping myself from laughing as the attendant started to shift around uncomfortably.

"Hey now, I was never convicted! After all, I was perfectly justified in killing that guy. He was a judgmental bigot, and that's a big no no nowadays." I told her. At this point the attendant started sweating and looked in every direction except ours. Satisfied by her handiwork, Vixen started for the platforms. I turned around and winked at the attendant before following after Vixen, grabbing her hand.

"I love ruffling feathers." Vixen said. I started to laugh as we looked for our train, keeping a tight hold on her hand.

"I was just going to ignore her, but your idea was more fun." I told her. As we came up to the train, we saw people starting to board it. We tightened our grip on each other and made our way over to the train quickly, stepping on with a few minutes to spare. We took our seats and relaxed as the doors closed, and the train began to move.

While Vixen watched the landscape pass us through the windows, I sat in my seat and stared at the floor, my earlier nervousness returning. It wouldn't be long now until we reached Aquacorde Town, until we reached my mother. I wanted to be as excited as my companion, but the underlying fear of what my mother's reaction would be was overwhelming. Would she be happy to see me? Would she even want to? I cupped my face in my hands and tried to calm myself down, and I felt something lean into me and pull my arms away. Vixen had stopped her sight-seeing and opted to cuddle me instead, and I wrapped my arms gratefully around her as I understood her unspoken message.

No matter what happens, I would not be alone.

* * *

TBC

And here it is, the first chapter of LDR. I didn't want to wait any longer XD.

This is going to be kind of touch-and-go for the first few chapters as I get used to the transition from Vixen to Aldith. My Beta said I did well in keeping the two girls separate but there might be times when Aldith will resemble Vixen. On top of that, these opening chapters might seem a little slow because I'm setting up the story, I have a MASSIVE cast and quite a few threads to weave together, so don't be surprised if we end up not getting started on the journey until chapter 3 or 4. Bear with me though, this will be a fun story.

I also plan on trying to release new chapters weekly. I hope to have one new chapter out every Sunday for you guys. Yeah, my regulars are probably laughing their heads off at that, ye of (perfectly justified) little faith XD. We'll see how long it'll take before I completely screw that up.

So, with that in mind, this was a pretty good start. We made it to Kalos and we're on our way to Aldith's hometown (which is not Vaniville I know, I have a good reason for that though, Aquacorde is prettier and nicer). We had a few foreshadowing events, and we've got our first look into Aldith's mind. Not to mention some callbacks! With so much happening in just the first chapter, what is the rest of the story going to be like?

You'll have to find out in Chapter 2.


	3. Chapter 2: Mother and Child

It was almost unbearable now.

As we pulled into the station, my nervousness had become more intense. I reluctantly roused Vixen from her nap, shaking her out of my lap while she sat up and stretched with a loud yawn.

"We're here." I said quietly. Vixen seemed confused by my words for a moment, but then her eyes widened as she fully understood what I said, and she turned to me. Grabbing my hand and squeezing it tightly, she smiled gently at me.

"It's going to be okay, Aldith. I'm right here." She assured me. I smiled appreciatively as the train came to a stop, and with a deep, shuddering breath, I got on my feet. Keeping a tight grip on Vixen's hand, I led us off the train and onto the platform. Upon leaving the train station, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath of the fresh, pine-scented air.

"Aldith, look out!" Vixen cried. I opened my eyes and yelped as something plowed into me, and I was knocked onto the pavement as something wriggled on me.

"OW! Sonofarabidpoochyenafu-uhhhh, hi." Said a voice. I groaned as I looked up and saw a pair of deep blue eyes staring at me. I blinked as I expanded my vision, seeing a girl clad in pastel colors laying on top of me while Vixen stood by in stunned silence.

"Um. Hello? Mind getting off me now?" I asked uncertainly. The girl blinked at me as she looked around, and she gasped as she wriggled free from me, standing up abruptly. She grabbed my hand and helped me up, and we dusted ourselves off.

"Oh my gosh I am so sorry! I'm just waiting on someone and got distracted by a Fletchling that's been picking on me." She said as a loud cheep called out behind us. Vixen and I looked up to see a Fletchling laying in the gutter of the train station, laughing it's little head off, which seemed to make our new friend mad.

"Oh yeah, laugh it up you little demon! Just wait until Angie and I get our paws on you!" She yelled at it, shaking her fist. I heard a soft bleat behind her, and looked to see a rather bored-looking Mareep behind her. The Fletchling ignored the girl's angry chatter as it stood up and flew away, leaving her to glare at it.

"Um, what did it do to you?" Vixen asked, staring at the girl. She grinned sheepishly as her Mareep waddled up to her, wagging its tail slowly.

"He likes to steal food from me and dive-bomb me when I'm not paying attention. My friends think it's hilarious." She said bitterly, turning away with a pout. I couldn't help but chuckle as I stretched my arm out to her, giving her a friendly smile.

"My name is Aldith and this is my friend Vixen." I told her. The girl snapped into a good mood and grinned at me, taking my outstretched hand and shaking it rapidly.

"I'm Celeste! And this is my buddy Angora, though I call her Angie. We actually just moved here from Sinnoh, we live in Vaniville Town not too far from here." She said. I nodded at her as I retrieved my hand.

"Welcome to Kalos then. I actually lived here up until a few years ago. This is my first time back in almost five years." I said with a sigh. I felt Vixen's hand intertwine with mine. This seemed to confuse Celeste for a moment and she tilted her head at me.

"I know it's not any of my business, but why do you look sad about that? Is something wrong?" She asked, yelping from a small jolt that came from her Mareep.

"Maa." Angie admonished. Celeste pouted at her pokemon and stuck her tongue out at it, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"It's alright, it's just been too long, that's all." I replied. She narrowed her eyes, and I could tell she didn't buy it for a second, but mercifully her Mareep seemed to be the more level-headed of the two. She seemed to zone out for a second, snapping out of it and looking around.

"Huh, could sworn I heard something. Anyway, OH! Did you guys see anyone on the train carrying a big box? One of my friends in Vaniville is supposed to start her journey soon, but the starters haven't arrived yet." She said, bouncing from confusion to excitement to anticipation so quickly, it was almost hard to follow. I blinked at her as I tried to think of whether or not I saw anyone like that.

"No, I don't think there was anyone in our car like that. How about you Vixy?" I asked. She shook her head softly and turned to the station, as though she were expecting to see someone like that come out.

"Me neither, sorry Celeste." She said. Celeste sighed and shook her head at us, reaching down to pick up Angie.

"It's alright, Professor Sycamore is very busy, but I'm getting a little tired of waiting. Well, I hope to see you again sometime girls! Let's go get something to eat Angie." She said, and she tore off before we could reply. Vixen and I stood still, blinking in the direction Celeste had run off to.

"She kinda reminds me of a human Sarah." Vixen said after awhile.

"What a strange girl, but it was rather refreshing. Could have done without being tackled into the ground though." I said, rubbing the back of my shoulder where I had fallen.

"I would have thought you would have reacted a little bit faster. Getting rusty there, Aldith?" Vixen asked teasingly. I huffed indignantly and crossed my arms.

"Of course not, I bet I could drop even Kyurem if I wanted to. I didn't even see Celeste coming, that's all." I said in mock-offense. Vixen just laughed and walked past me to look around at Aquacorde, and was in awe at the sight.

There was a large river that separated the town from the forest, a pristine, cobblestone bridge connecting the two. Past that there were large buildings that housed businesses and homes at once. In the middle of the city, there was a fountain that shot water in two streams into the sky, and there were many small children playing around and in it, to their parents chagrin. Dotted around the city were organized patches of grass that danced in the soft wind that blew around us.

For the moment, I had forgotten my worries and allowed the relaxing feel of my old hometown envelop me. It was almost like Aquacorde Town itself missed me, and was welcoming me home in the way only it knew how. I walked over to one of the patches of grass and sat down, leaning back to prop myself on my arms. I was pushed forward a bit when Vixen joined me, sitting behind me and using my back to prop herself up. We sat back-to-back and stared at the clear sky overhead.

"So, what do you wanna do now? Wanna let out our pokemon to enjoy the tranquility, or do you want to go home right away?" Vixen asked after a couple minutes of silence. I sighed and hung my head, looking at Romeo's pokeball on my belt.

"What would you do?" I asked back. Vixen hummed as though she was considering the options.

"Well, if it was me, I would want to get it out of the way. I hate putting things off, especially if they are uncomfortable. I'm not you though, all I can offer you is a bit of wisdom that Yuyu gave me when Grimsley and Shauntal were asking my permission to adopt me." She began. I carefully pulled away from her to turn where I sat so I could face her, but she had opted to just prop herself on her arms and look at the sky still, her dual-colored eyes tearing up a bit.

"Are you alright?" I asked her. She smiled then, her lips gently turning up ever so slightly, and she nodded slowly.

"Yeah. When they presented the adoption forms to me, I was both delighted and scared. I love them both like parents, but I was worried that my biological parents would be angry with me for replacing them. It wasn't exactly their idea to die and leave me alone, so how could I abandon them? Yuyu set me straight though. He told me that if they were upset with me for that, then they did not deserve to be called my parents." She said, and I tilted my head in confusion at her.

"I'm happy for you but, if you don't mind my asking, how does this help me?" I asked her. Vixen sat up straighter and looked at me, her smile never faltering.

"Because what Yuyu essentially told me was that a parent should want what is best for their child. If your mother really cares about you, then she will be happy to see you again after so long. If she gets angry about you running off in the first place, given the reasons you had for it, then she isn't worth your time, but at least then you'd know." She replied. I sighed and curled my knees up in front of me, hugging them to my chest and resting my head on them.

"What do I do then?" I asked. Vixen reached over and began to pet my hair softly, which was oddly soothing.

"You get on with your life. You have friends who love you like family, Aldith. That's why I came with you, to remind you of that even if the worst comes to pass." She said. I opened my mouth to respond, but found myself speechless as a warm feeling bubbled up inside of me. It was strange, foreign, and yet it was oddly comforting. I allowed the feeling to stay, and was mildly disappointed when it left me when my spirits lifted.

They were right though, Vixen and the feeling I got. Here I was, sitting here and dwelling on all of the 'What Ifs?' of the issue. I should be focused on just getting there in the first place. What would I say to her? What COULD I say to her? That could wait until I actually faced her, so that I could be honest with her and myself without having a rehearsed mantra to vomit up. That seemed to work for Vixen well enough, and she was certainly the most hopeful person I knew. If she could hope for the best and prepare for the worst, then I could too.

I silently stood up and helped Vixen to her feet, and I began to walk in the direction I remembered my old home to be. Though she was curious about my silence, she didn't try to disturb it. Perhaps she figured I was thinking about what I was going to say, but in reality, I was just trying to meditate and keep myself focused. Thinking was the last thing I wanted to do because then I would hesitate and turn back.

The scent of fresh coffee wafted through the air as we came up to the building that I had tried so hard to forget. The giant, Rhyhorn-shaped sign that hung out over the door read 'Racing Hearts'. I chuckled at the pun as I walked up to the door to let me and Vixen inside.

There were a few tables and chairs scattered here and there, some of them occupied by teens who were chattering away at each other over a cup of my mother's coffee. At the back of the room was a counter, and I was frozen in fear as I looked at the woman attending it. Resting her head on her hands, propped up by her elbows, my mother looked like she was sleeping. Her short, brown hair bobbed at the ends, pulled back by a headband that had sequins on it, reflecting the light in various colors. I reached back and groped until Vixen grabbed my hand, and I squeezed it tightly as I forced myself to take a step forward. Then another step, and another, until I was almost right up against the counter.

"I'm sorry, I was up really late working on a new coffee. What can I get you?" My mother mumbled, her eyes still closed as she moved from her relaxed position, stretching her arms above her head. I swallowed the growing lump in my throat and breathed out slowly, trying to force words out of my mouth. My arm swayed from Vixen shifting uncomfortably, trying very hard to restrain herself so that she didn't interfere.

"Um, maybe just a 'hello', Mother?" I said shakily, mainly to relieve Vixen's anxiety, though mine skyrocketed. My mom froze in place, and her eyes slowly opened to stare at me. Her deep, almost black, brown eyes widened as she recognized me, tears forming at the edge of her eyes.

"Serena." She croaked. I blinked in confusion when another voice popped up.

"Yes ma'am?" Called a girl, and I turned to see a blonde teen look up from her book in a corner of the cafe. A clicking sound beside me drew my attention, and I saw my mother hastily opening the latch to behind the counter, her movements jagged.

"I need you to stand at the counter, I'll give you overtime for fifty percent more than your normal pay if you come up here right now." She said in a loud whisper, almost tripping over. Serena rushed over to us and helped my mom steady herself, but he didn't seem to notice as she looked at me again, gesturing for me to come over. I pulled Vixen behind the counter with me, and followed my mom to the door that would lead to our house in the cafe.

"Is everything okay, Boss?" Serena asked as she took my mother's place behind the counter.

"Just…just do your job. I'll be back later." My mom said, disappearing behind the door. Vixen and I quickly followed her, and I saw her run upstairs. I stopped at the bottom of the steps, not sure of how to perceive her reaction. I barely registered the sound of a pokeball opening, and was surprised when something long and furry wrapped around my other arm.

"No you don't, we've come too far. Let's go, Aldith." Vixen said as she and Romeo pulled me up the stairs after my mother. When we made it to the top, Romeo pushed the door open, his tail still wrapped firmly around my wrist, and we slowly walked inside to the living room. My mother was sitting on a long, green couch, staring at a picture she held in her hands with her wide eyes. I gulped as I let go of Vixen's hand and unwrapped Romeo's tail, taking a step towards Mom. She jerked upwards and stared at me, as though she didn't really believe I was here. I heard Vixen gasp behind me, but I didn't turn around to see why.

"Aldith….is that you in that picture?" Vixen asked, and I looked down at the frame in my mother's hand. My mother chuckled hollowly as she held it up, and I gasped as well. The picture was of me and my family. My mother and father were standing behind me with strained smiles, while a much younger version of myself beamed on top of the Rhyhorn that stood between them.

"Yes, this….this was taken when Aldith turned four. It was the last picture taken of all of us before Fierté left us…" She said quietly. I gulped as I took another step towards my mother.

"Mom, I-" I started, only for her to rush at me and wrap her arms around me tightly.

"You're alive." She said. She began to sob quietly as she hugged me.

"Y-you're not mad?" I asked. Mom shook her head quickly and kept a tight hold on me, lifting up her head to sniffle.

"I'm mad at myself. You didn't run away, Aldith, I pushed you away. Please forgive me." She said quietly, rubbing my back. I began to tear up myself, and I returned my mother's hug, resting my head on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Mom." Was all I said, and the two of us stood in the living room crying on each other.

I don't know how long we were like that. It must have been awhile, for when we finally pulled away, I saw Vixen had left. Romeo was watching us from the chair, looking very pleased at what he saw.

"Where did she go?" I asked him, rubbing my eye. Romeo meowed at me and pointed to the stairs, indicating she had gone back to the coffee shop, and I winced.

"Who is that child anyway? She's…not yours, is she?" Mom asked, and I snickered.

"I'm glad she wasn't here for that. I'm not even twenty yet, Mom, I'm too young to have a child that size. Vixen is a friend of mine from Unova, and she's almost seventeen believe it or not." I explained, and my mother stared at me in shock.

"Really? What's the matter with her?" She asked. I put my finger to my lips as I tried to remember what Vixen told me about her odd size.

"I think she told me it's a genetic quirk in her family that shows up every couple of generations. She said her mom told her that her grandmother had it too." I explained, my uneasiness coming back to me. My mom put her hand on my shoulder and squeezed it comfortingly.

"What's the matter?" She asked, and I shook my head.

"I just feel kinda bad. Seeing us together might be painful to her, and that's probably why she went back downstairs." I explained, much to my mom's confusion.

"Why? Does she have a rocky relationship with her mother as well?" She asked and I shook my head again, closing my eyes.

"No…" I said, not wanting to elaborate.

"Oh…." My mother said, understanding anyway. She let my shoulder go and began to walk towards the stairs.

"Mom?" I asked. She waved dismissively, waiting for me at the top of the stairs.

"Come on, I know how to fix her." She said. I blinked at her in confusion as I followed her down the steps, Romeo close behind me, and we walked into the coffee shop to see chaos erupt.

"Oh no, she let her out?" I said, watching as Vixen chased her Vullaby, Pepper, around the coffee shop. The little bird was constantly jumping on customers laps or rifling through their bags, and despite Vixen's calls for her to stop, she just continued her antics. Mom looked at a horrified Serena, who seemed at a loss for what to do.

"Did you give it some coffee?" Mom asked, and Serena snapped her attention to us, paling at the sight of my mother. She shook her head violently and waved her hands in front of her dismissively.

"No no no no no! I was just talking to Vixen about you and your daughter and all of a sudden her pokeball opened and that Vullaby started running around! WhatdoIdo?!" She said frantically. I laughed as I turned my attention back to the chaos, briefly glancing at my mother.

"Let me take care of it. Hey Vixen! Need some help?" I asked, catching her off guard.

"YES!" She said as she face-planted into the floor. I chuckled and turned to Romeo, gesturing to them with my eyes. He grinned as he leapt over the counter, bouncing off Vixen and pouncing on top of Pepper. He grabbed her legs in his mouth and lifted her away from the ground, and though she tried her best, Pepper was not able to get out of his grip. She opted to go limp instead, hoping to trick him into thinking she was hurt, but Romeo wasn't fooled for a second as Vixen picked herself up off the floor, dusting herself off.

"Good boy, Romeo." I said with a laugh, opening the counter to walk over to them. Romeo purred as he held Pepper in his jaws, releasing her only when Vixen pulled her out of his mouth and held her tightly.

"Thank you so much, Romeo! I owe you a crepe. Pepper! Say you're sorry to these people right now!" She said, finishing with an admonishment to her pokemon. Pepper cooed sadly and hung her head, making the customers chuckle.

"That was the highlight of my day!" Said a male voice.

"No harm done, it was fun watching you chase after her." Called a female. I chuckled as I leaned down to pet Romeo, the large, purple cat purring from the touch. With the chaos over, I stood up and turned to my mother, who was doing something behind the counter that involved a lot of clinking. Suddenly, she stopped, and she turned around to leave the counter, holding a tray with two tall cups on it. She walked over to us and held the tray down in front of Vixen first, beaming at her.

"Vixen, thank you for bringing my daughter back to me. I know it's not much, but take one of these iced-coffees as my thanks. The one on your right is cookies-n-cream, and the other is Oran twist." She told her. Vixen blinked at my mother in surprise, but warmed up to her kindness. With a nod, she took the cookies-n-cream coffee, my mother offering me the other. Vixen took one sip and yelped, staring at the drink.

"Wow, this is coffee?" She said in disbelief, sipping it again. I laughed as I took a sip of mine, savoring the taste of the cold drink.

"Yep, no one does it better than my mother." I told her, making Mom laugh.

"Coffee is the life-blood of a hardcore Rhyhorn Racer. I used to down entire pots at a time back in the day, kept me awake so that Clifford and I could train for races." She said. I winced at that and nodded in confirmation.

"Yeah, I remember that we used to get up even before the sun did. I think I was ten when I had my first cup of coffee?" I said, trying to remember the details of what made me want to run away in the first place. My mother's smile faltered for a bit, reluctant to remember.

"Actually I think I gave you a shot of it when you were nine and a half. It was just normal coffee though, you didn't like it much. I had to experiment with flavors to get you to like it, which wasn't until you were ten." She said. I nodded and took another sip of my iced coffee.

"That's right. So, shall we find a table? I feel like we should sit down before I start telling you about where I've been and why I came back." I said, somewhat changing the subject. My mother smiled and nodded, turning to Serena behind her.

"Mind staying at the counter? I'm still going to give you the overtime I offered." She said. Serena smiled and waved her hand dismissively, grabbing a rag to start wiping it down.

"I'd do it even without the overtime. Go be with your daughter, that's more important." She replied, making us smile. With a nod, Mom set her empty tray on the counter and sat at a table that was close to the counter, gesturing for me and Vixen to take our seats. I wasn't entirely sure how well she'd take knowing my involvement in Team Plasma.

But it was good to tell her about it all the same.

* * *

TBC

I got tired of waiting again. Early release! Still planning on releasing something on Sunday.

I'm going to try and be more consistent than I was in Lola, that means no more numbers period (Elite Four as opposed to Elite 4).

This chapter was so much fun to write! I actually got really into it, and felt Aldith's nervousness as my own. My heart was pounding and my breathing quickened with every word, and it didn't stop until Aldith and her mom embraced. Btw, Clifford is her Rhyhorn in case that needed clarification. He'll be introduced next chapter but I wanted to clear that confusion.

Also, Celeste is such a derp. She's like that on VS too, always in a rush once she gets an idea in her head, crashing into people and pokemon almost constantly. She's a very nice foil to Aldith XD.

I think we'll start getting somewhere with the story in the next chapter, now that we've finally met Aldith's mother. Now that this massive weight has been lifted from Aldith's shoulders, she can relax more and consider Vixen's suggestion more seriously. It also means that Vixen is going to leave the story soon. I'm gonna miss that little munchkin. T^T

See you guys in chapter 3!


	4. Chapter 3: Coffee Shop Chaos

"Oh Aldith…" My mother said as she stared at me and Vixen, unable to say anymore.

This is the part I was afraid of. Spilling out my past to my mother and hoping she would forgive me for it. I launched into my story about Team Plasma almost the moment we sat down, and with every word my mother's eyes got progressively wider. I didn't leave anything out as I spoke of my training, of the brainwashing of those less loyal, of the awful crimes I had committed in the name of Team Plasma. Vixen and I were just joking about that "murder" in the train station, but I did come close to it on more than one occasion. By the time I finished, my iced coffee was mostly melted and only halfway gone.

"So, now I'm not quite sure what to do anymore. Vixen's been badgering me about going on a journey, just like you did when I turned ten. I….I wanted to come home and make things right with you first, though." I said, keeping my eyes on my cup.

"Double Mocha Latte Espresso!" Serena's voice yipped.

"Coming!" Said a customer. The sounds of the transactions and the rest of the coffee shop chatter buzzed around us, filling the air with a carefree attitude.

"So, what do you want in life, Aldith?" My mom asked after awhile. I looked up to see her watching me carefully, trying to guess what my response would be. I closed my eyes and shook my head, shrugging as I took a sip of my coffee.

"I'm not really sure. The problem is that I don't have anything to focus on. I'm hoping that a journey will help that somewhat, but, where to start?" I said as Romeo brushed up against me. My mother hummed as she leaned back, and her eyes flicked over to Serena.

"Hey Serena?" My mother asked, drawing the girls attention.

"Yes?" She responded, keeping her eyes focused on her work as she completed another transaction.

"Your neighbor is going on her journey soon, right?" Mom asked. Serena whipped around to the coffee machine to mix a drink for her newest customer.

"Shauna? Yeah, but the starters haven't arrived yet. That crazy girl who moved in next door is getting tired of waiting, though I can't understand why. She has a pokemon already, it's not like she's going to get one of the starters. In fact, I'm not sure why she's even still here. Triple Bluk Sitrus Iced Decaf!" She said, handing off the coffee to her customer. My mother nodded and turned back to me with a soft smile.

"Well, maybe when the starter pokemon arrive, you should ask Shauna if you can go with her. The girl is a bit flighty, and could use an experienced trainer's guidance." My mother suggested.

"Or maybe talk the weird girl into leaving finally. Shauna will be able to handle herself just fine, but there's something odd about Celeste. She wants to go but she refuses to." Serena interjected. I blinked as I turned to her as she went back to wiping down the counter.

"What do you mean? We met Celeste on the way over, and she seems pretty cheerful. I can't imagine someone like her letting anything stop her from doing whatever she wanted." I said. Serena smiled softly as she looked up at me.

"You didn't hear this from me, but Celeste used to be a really awesome coordinator. A contest champion. There was a big scandal in the Sinnoh region though, the details are obscure." She began, resting her elbows on the counter and lacing her fingers together to rest her head on them.

"What do you know of it?" I asked curiously.

"Not sure, something about stealing pokemon or something like that." She said as the door opened. Serena's eyes widened and she grew pale.

"Many Coordinators got their pokemon from special breeders, rather than capturing them on their own. They were said to be the ultimate contest pokemon." Said a familiar voice. Vixen and I turned around to see Celeste standing a little ways away from us, looking a little sad, while Angie stood behind her. She gave me a sad smile and turned to Serena.

"Just the usual?" Serena asked uneasily. Celeste nodded and she walked over to our table, taking a seat beside me. She looked down at Romeo and smiled at him, reaching out to pet him.

"What a nice Liepard." She said quietly as Romeo began to purr.

"Thank you." I replied, letting her set the pace. She stayed silent, and I felt Vixen shift in her seat.

"Wha-" She started, only to be stopped by my hand. I shook my head, and she got the message, pulling away from my hand to sip her coffee. I turned back to Celeste, and she gave me a grateful smile.

"In reality, the "breeders" were actually poachers, they were going to protected pokemon habitats and capturing rare pokemon in them to turn around and sell for a high profit. The few coordinators who knew the truth didn't care because they wanted to win above all else." She said as a plate with a pastry appeared in front of her. She smiled gratefully at Serena and broke off part of the pastry, giving it to her Mareep. She said nothing more as she and her pokemon ate the pastry with none of the gusto we saw earlier. Though we wanted to press for more, Vixen and I restrained ourselves.

"Maa." Angie bleated comfortingly, looking up at Celeste with a soft smile. She smiled back and stroked her wool.

"I just decided to get out of the contest world altogether after the mess. I couldn't escape my shadow in Sinnoh, so I came here because Kalos is a big place, and it would be easier for me to blend in." She said, finishing her food. She let her Mareep down and stood up abruptly, taking her plate back to Serena and giving her some poke.

"Are the starters here yet?" Serena asked, trying to change the subject. Celeste smiled appreciatively at Serena before the question sunk in, and she immediately pouted.

"No. Dang it! I am going to go call that scatterbrained professor right now and give him a piece of my mind! Shauna and I have been waiting all week to see them! Let's go Angie!" She said, tearing out of the shop with her Mareep close behind. Mom and Serena chuckled as the customers went on as though this was a common occurrence. Vixen and I turned to each other and blinked, grinning in amusement. Vixen's eyes glazed over, and I tilted my head curiously. I knew by now that whenever she lost focus like that, it usually meant she was talking to a pokemon, usually Lola or Yuyu. When she came out of her trance, she frowned and grabbed her chin in thumb and forefinger.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"Yuyu says Celeste is out of balance. It's his duty, and mine by extension, to help restore balance wherever we go, but I'm not quite sure how to go about that here." She said, prompting a confused sound from my mother. I ignored her for the moment as I thought over Vixen's predicament. The door to the coffee shop opened again, and I turned to see a dark-skinned girl with long, brown hair styled up in loops and ponytails walk over to the counter.

"She's at it again. She's more excited about my journey than I am, and she's not even getting a pokemon." The girl said. My mother chuckled as Serena turned to make some coffee.

"Celeste is certainly entertaining. She was just in here telling us a bit about her days in Sinnoh, and then as soon as Serena brought up your journey, she took off. Have you talked to her about leaving for your journey together, Shauna?" My mom said. Shauna's face fell a bit and she looked down, shaking her head.

"N-no. She was pretty adamant about it the first time I asked her, I don't want to make her mad." She said quietly.

"Honchkrow Hazlenut Dark Roast!" Serena called out.

"Shauna, Celeste hardly has a temper that we've seen. What's wrong with asking for a little help?" My mother said. Shauna shifted uncomfortably in her seat as my mother tried to convince her about how a journey with friends was a rewarding experience. She might have seen the error of her ways regarding me, but Mom still liked to be in control. The fact remained though that Celeste did look like she needed someone to push her, so why was this girl that seemed to know her reluctant? I sipped my coffee and closed my eyes, tuning out the argument to think it over.

I cracked my eye open to see my mom almost berating the poor girl by now, and sighed in exasperation, turning to Vixen who looked like she wanted to intervene. I gently nudged her to get her attention. When she turned to me, I gave her a wry smile, and she seemed to understand what it was I wanted her to do. She bent down to whisper something to Pepper, which caused the little bird to jump up onto the table.

"VULLABY!" She squawked, running between Mom and Shauna.

"Pst, Romeo, help her cause a scene." I whispered to my Liepard. He leapt after her, not really trying to catch her as he chased her around the shop.

"Pepper! Not again!" Vixen cried, rushing out of her seat to scold her pokemon. As I had hoped, Mom had shifted her attention to watching the pokemon run rampant, half amused and half concerned. I took this chance to lean over to Shauna and tap her shoulder, gently pulling her to me.

"Quick, make a break for it while she's distracted. I'll take care of this." I whispered to her.

"Thank you." She whispered back, smiling as me as she carefully got out of her seat, making her way to and out the door. Upon seeing her leave, Pepper "tripped" on the slick tile, allowing Vixen a clear shot to recall her while Romeo skidded to a stop.

"I don't know why I didn't do that in the first place…" Vixen said, though I could tell there was a ring of truth to that statement. Mom and I laughed as Romeo returned to us.

"It's not your fault she's nuttier than Summer. Speaking of which, she's surprisingly calm, I haven't seen her at all this trip." I said in astonishment. It was so unlike the Eevee to remain in her pokeball without seeing me and Romeo at least once.

"That's because I didn't bring her. She likes my mom's Golurk too much, I didn't have the heart to separate them. Besides, I had to leave some pokemon behind." She told me. I blinked at her as I remembered all the pokemon she owned.

"So, who else stayed behind?" I asked.

"Beth. She's helping Flower teach Axew Dragon Dance." She answered. I smiled and opened my mouth to respond when my mom piped up.

"Hey, where did Shauna go?" She asked, looking around for the girl.

"Triple Caramel Makuchitato!" Serena said, much to my mother's shock.

"Excuse me, wait, who ordered that?" My mom asked. The boy who was coming up to the counter froze in place, and upon meeting my mother's gaze, he bolted for the door.

"Romeo, after-" I started, but my mother beat me to the punch.

"WE GOT A RUNNER! GET HIM, CLIFFORD!" My mother roared. As soon as the boy ran out the door, we heard a deep, angry bellow that shook the glass, and a Rhyhorn appeared in the window, chasing the boy down and tackling him to the ground. My mom stood up and casually walked out of the shop, leaning down by her pokemon. We all watched as she got into a heated argument with the boy, though we couldn't hear anything they said, and I watched her snatch something from him. She scanned the trinket and shook her head, shaking her fist at him. Clifford let the boy up, and with a final scolding, my mother shooed him away and she walked back into the shop. The other customers quickly pulled their tables back to make room as Clifford lumbered in behind her, and upon seeing me, he froze in place.

"Hey buddy, remember me?" I asked, standing up to carefully approach him. Clifford stared at me in wonder as he turned to his trainer, and upon seeing her nod, he grinned and stomped over to me, tilting his head up to brush my stomach gently with his horn.

"Orn!" He cried out excitedly, and I laughed as I carefully draped myself over his head.

"It's good to see you again, really it is. Mom, what was that about?" I asked, turning my head to look at her. She rolled her eyes as she glanced at the card in her hand.

"A Makuchitato is a Macchiato spiked with whiskey. You have to be at least eighteen to order one in Kalos and the clientele who order them aren't usually here until dark." She said, tossing the card onto the counter while Serena hung her head.

"Sorry ma'am, that ID looks so real though." She said miserably. Mom hummed and reached over the counter, gently patting Serena on the head.

"Yes, it's a very good ID, but the picture is slightly raised, which means that it is just a sticker on top of the true identity. It's alright, I wouldn't have caught it either if he hadn't bolted." She comforted.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. Clifford had to back out of the shop so he could go back to his den in the backyard, and I returned to sitting at the table. My nervousness had returned, though for a different reason entirely. I did my best to hide it though as Vixen and I talked to my mother, this time telling her a bit about Vixen's journey. Serena went home about an hour after the fake ID thing, which was when the sun began to set. My mother returned to manning the counter and Vixen and I watched her clientele change from teens to young adults. There was a TV in both of the front corners, which Mom turned on and had coverage of the Kalos Pokemon League. The league had not changed much since I had left, but there was a change to the Elite Four that caught me off guard.

"Hey, that blonde guy is new. Who is he?" I asked.

"His name is Siebold, he's a Water-Type specialist who is also a very talented chef. He owns a restaurant in Lumiose that is said to be very good." My mother said, making Vixen blink.

"He has time to operate a restaurant even though he's part of the Elite Four? How did he manage that." Vixen asked. My mother looked at her curiously as some of the customers turned to us, turning away when my mother glared.

"Here in Kalos, the Champion is the one who is the busiest. In the past, Kalos was ruled by royalty, a King or a Queen, for hundreds of years. After that big war though, our final king disappeared, and his brother opted to not take the throne. Since then, Kalos has been governed by the strongest pokemon trainer, which is the Champion in modern times." Mom explained. Vixen listened intently to her every word, completely fascinated by the small history lesson.

"I wonder if Mom knows anything about this. She would love something like this if she doesn't." Vixen said in response. I laughed and leaned forward to pat her back.

"I think my history book is still here if you would like to take it back with you to go over with her. I'm sure Shauntal would be very interested by this." I told her.

"Nah, that's contemporary history. It's stuff people already know about. Mom prefers the unheard, the story behind the story. Sort of like the story of Reversal Mountain, or the moment that the Great Dragon split into Ra ra, Zekrom, and Yuyu." Vixen replied. I smiled at her and nodded as we turned our attention back to the TV on the left, watching the new Elite Four member defeat a challenger's Hariyama with a Clauncher.

Later, as we moved into the house while Mom waited to close her shop, I took the time to explore my old home while Vixen fed her pokemon, though she left Yuyu in his pokeball for obvious reasons. The familiar hallways and pictures that lined the walls gave me a little dose of nostalgia, which was odd considering that a lot of my time at home was spent arguing with Mom, and I didn't enjoy those memories one bit.

Upon making it to my room, I gasped. It was still unchanged from when I had left. All of my pokemon figurines were lined up on the desk, almost as if they were ready to come to life and battle. My bed was still made in the corner, the Furfrou-print comforter looking nice and clean. I smiled as Romeo sauntered up beside me, looking around the room curiously.

"Romeo, is Vixen still with her pokemon in the living room?" I asked. He turned around to go get her, but stopped when I touched his tail.

"Lie?" He asked questioningly. I gave him a sad smile as I went to sit on the bed.

"Listen boy, I need to talk to you about something, and you probably won't like it. Mind coming over here?" I asked. He narrowed his eyes as he obliged, walking over and silently jumping up with me. I took a deep breath and began to pet him, thinking over my words carefully.

But it had to be done, and he deserved to know why.

* * *

TBD

HAHAHA! You thought I was gonna be late, didn't you? It's been almost the whole day and no updates, but I made it! Not slipping yet! PROGRESS!

So I'm going to be heading to Ma's next week to spend the weekend with her and possibly part of the week after. I will have cable modem there and I MIGHT get distracted by youtube *last time I was at Ma's, I watched close to 10 hours of youtube there*, but I don't leave until Saturday, so I'll spend the week trying to cram as much LDR progress as possible so that I can still meet the deadline.

Anyway, this was a rather….messy chapter. There was so much going on here I don't know what to focus on. That was mainly because I want to try to keep my word-count somewhat consistent and there's not much to do with Aldith's mom still on the clock in her coffee shop. We did get some backstory though and a taste of Kalosian lore that will help drive the story.

And because I promised them this in the May Community Thread, I want to give a shoutout. A big congrats to the following GPX+ users who got a Diancie egg in the distribution today!

Neowalker, Wingcap, PokeNOM NOM NOM, SilverPT, Synx Itax, Rhapsody (who got two O8), Vesus Levide, Margo, Jade, Natasha Romanoff, Yggdrasil, Erwan, II Sam II, Cycloneblaze, Teen Heat, Darkrai Master, Sportsfan666, Inu, Forget me now, Daneh, Eucharistica, pumpkinking0192, Phoenicis, Rookie Roo, Arro Teo, The Yatagarasu, Ruby Tsukishiro, Icicle, KatTheBard, and Doom Hunter.

Yeah, 350 eggs went out at 4 PM server time and many of them popped into the thread to tell us XD

Anyway, see you guys in Chapter 4!


	5. Chapter 4: Setting Up for Setting Out

The next morning, Vixen and I were sound asleep and snuggled up together in my bed when we were woken by a loud shriek.

"THEY'RE HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE!" Celeste screeched, her voice carrying through the house and scaring me, Vixen and Romeo wide awake. Romeo himself had fallen off the bed from fright while Vixen and I bolted upright and I tried to hide her behind me in case we were being attacked. When her words sunk in, I sighed in annoyance and let Vixen go, leaving the bed to check on my poor, startled Liepard.

"Sheesh, that girl's got a set of lungs on her." I mumbled as I helped Romeo up. He purred in appreciation as Vixen hopped down beside me, shaking her head.

"No kidding…" Vixen said bitterly, turning her head to look at the clock. She rolled her eyes and went to grab her clothes, leaving the room. Blinking after her, I turned to the clock myself and noted that it was seven in the morning.

"I haven't been up at this hour in a long time…" I said.

"Liepard?" Romeo asked. I blinked and shook my head, giving him a smile as I stood up to get my own clothes.

"I'm alright. So, you sure you're okay with what we talked about?" I asked him, pulling off my pajamas to change into my everyday wear. As I pulled my shirt on, I didn't hear anything from him, and looked to see him staring at the ground thoughtfully, if a bit sad. He snapped up and smiled softly at me, making me frown.

"I need you to be strong here buddy. Please?" I asked. Romeo's smile got a little bit bigger, and he walked over to me, rubbing up against my hip. He grabbed the edge of my shirt and pulled gently, untucking the side from my pants and then letting go to straighten it out. I smiled and knelt down to hug him tightly, patting his side as Vixen walked in.

"She and your mom are having a go down there, we-everything okay?" She said, stopping when she saw me and Romeo. I nodded and stood up to smile at her.

"Yeah, we were just having a small talk. Come on, let's go rescue Celeste before my mom strangles her." I said, laughing as I exited the room. I don't know if Vixen believed me, but she let it go as we walked through the halls, the sounds of a heated argument getting louder and louder as we got closer to the stairs.

"You could have broken my windows you banshee!"

"But I didn't, did I?"

"That's not the point!"

"The point is we have been waiting for over a week for this and it's finally here! Lighten up a little!"

"How about I lighten you up!?"

I winced as we walked into the coffee shop, and I saw Serena, Shauna, and two boys staring in horror as my mother and Celeste faced off. My mother's face was bright red, and her eyes seemed to be drowning in raw fury. Celeste, on the other hand, looked perfectly relaxed, if a bit amused, with just a slight tinge of annoyance.

"Alright alright, let's just calm down. You can kill each other AFTER Vixen and I have had a chance to sell tickets." I said, making Vixen snicker. The snickering stopped abruptly as my mother turned her hate-filled glare to us. Vixen took a step back from the intensity of the look, but I knew this side of my mother perfectly well, and was mostly numb to it. Being in a terrorist organization that operated like a strict military helped too. I countered her glare with a defiant, angry one of my own as I stepped in front of Vixen. My mother seemed startled by the action and backed down, opting to come stand behind the counter and get some coffee started instead. Celeste blinked in confusion at the scene.

"Woah, heavy. I've seen friendlier encounters backstage, and some of those contest halls were inteeeense." She said in a singsongy voice. I rolled my eyes as Shauna tentatively stepped forward.

"Um, so, c-can I p-pick my pokemon n-now?" She asked shakily, scared she might start another fight. I instantly mellowed out and opened my mouth to speak, but Celeste jumped in first.

"Oh right! It's time to start your journey! Hey Dex, let's see them! Come on bring out the pokemon!" She said excitedly. The short, red-haired boy blinked at her before pouting.

"I told you, my name is Trevor. Anyway, I've got them, hang on." He said, reaching into his bag. He began to rifle through it, setting out cases of pokeballs, a few different-colored pokedexes, and some strange tablets. Finally, he found them. He and the larger boy grabbed one end of a large tube and pulled it out of the bag. Inside the tube, there were three pokeballs, which I assumed held the starters inside. I smiled and stepped out from behind the counter with Vixen, carefully approaching the boys with Shauna while they set things up. With the transport tube out of the backpack, Trevor moved the bag off the table so that there was room to set it down behind the other gadgets, and they turned to Shauna.

"Well, there they are. Have you decided which one you want yet?" Trevor asked. She shifted awkwardly and held her hands behind her back, drawing little circles on the floor with her toe.

"Um…" She muttered, and Trevor found himself gently elbowed by the larger boy.

"Maybe we should let them out first before she picks. It's her first pokemon, she should get to know them individually before she decides!" He said.

"OW! Tierno…" Trevor groaned. He conceded though, maybe thinking Tierno had a point, and he turned around to grab the tube, placing it in Tierno's hands as he carefully removed the pokeballs.

"Ohhhh this is so exciting! I remember when I got my first pokemon! Of course, Triton turned out to be a jerk later, BUT IT WAS STILL SO EXCITING!" Celeste chattered behind us. I blinked and turned to her curiously.

"Triton?" I asked. Celeste sobered for a moment, as though she were remembering something painful, before she shook her head rapidly and smiled.

"Yeah, he was an Empoleon. The entire Piplup line is pretty arrogant and self-centered, which is pretty much the entire contest scene. In retrospect, maybe I shouldn't have picked him, but he was the cutest of the bunch. It was still fun though." She said trying to laugh it off. I could tell she was hurting though, which made me feel better about my decision overall as Trevor cleared his throat.

"Yes well, let's meet the pokemon now, okay? First, the Grass-Type pokemon, Chespin." He said, opening a pokeball. A flash of light burst from his hand and flew towards the table, taking shape. A small, brown and green, rodent-like pokemon formed from the fading light. It opened its eyes and yawned, stretching its short arms and yawning with a squeak.

"Pin?" It asked, looking around it. It seemed to be shy, pulling it's hat-like shell over its eyes and whimpering softly.

"Aww, poor thing. Trevor, let the next one out so it can have a friend for support." Serena piped. The boy blinked and nodded, grabbing another pokeball and opening it up.

"Well, this one might be best for that. This is the Water-Type pokemon, Froakie." He said as the light reached out to the table. The shape this time took the form of a small, light-blue frog that was covered in white bubbles. It seemed almost bored by being called out, but upon seeing the distressed Chespin, it snapped into action.

"Froakie." It said soothingly, reaching out to pat Chespin on the back. Chespin seemed to appreciate the sentiment and slowly peeked out from it's shell, smiling softly at the frog.

"That's better, isn't it, Chespin?" Vixen asked, leaning towards the table. Chespin jumped at being addressed at first, but with Froakie's assurances, it calmed down and smiled at Vixen.

"And this is the Fire-Type, Fennekin." Trevor said, jumping right into sending out the last pokemon. The shape that formed was that of a small fox, looking mostly yellow with some orange dotting it's tail and the tufts in its ears. It sat down on the table beside Froakie, seeming to not notice them, as it stared calmly ahead. Tierno made a curious sound as he waved a hand in front of it, but it didn't budge.

"Odd, is it okay, Trevor?" He asked. Trevor leaned down to look at Fennekin, but it still didn't move until he got in front of it. The Fennekin stood up on its back legs and looked over Trevor's head, balancing itself with its big, fluffy tail.

"That's strange, what's it doing?" I asked, turning to Vixen.

"Oh my gosh Aldith, it's looking at YOU." Celeste said excitedly.

"Huh?" I asked, turning back as Trevor moved away. Fennekin's head followed my movements as it sat back down. I blinked at it and tilted my head, Fennekin doing the same. I tilted my head in the other direction, and sure enough, the little fox mimicked me.

"Um, maybe it's just me, but I think that Fennekin likes you, Miss Aldith." Shauna said. I gasped and turned to stare at her in shock, turning back to see Fennekin smiling.

"Wait wait wait, what? But…that wasn't exactly what I had in mind, I was going to let you pick first!" I stammered. This Fennekin had other ideas though, standing up and bunching its legs together to leap into me. I yelped and caught it against my chest, and looked down to see it looking up at me with begging eyes.

"Feeeen?" It pleaded. I blinked several times at it, trying to find the will to resist so that my plan could go as I wanted it to.

'_You can't fight fate._' It was that voice from Coumarine City again. I know there was no one else in the coffee shop though, and it didn't seem to come from the pokemon in my arms. I was annoyed that it seemed to be in league with the fox, but so far, it hasn't led me astray. I sighed in defeat and hugged the pokemon tightly.

"Oh alright, you win Fennekin. Trevor, can I have its pokeball?" I asked. The boy seemed to have a hard time holding back his laughter as he held the ball out to me, and I took it with a roll of my eyes and placed it on my belt.

"Aldith, what are you planning?" Vixen asked suspiciously. I held Fennekin tightly and gave Vixen a teasing smile.

"I'll tell you AFTER Shauna makes her pick. Don't worry, Vixy, I know what I'm doing." I assured her. She narrowed her eyes at me, but I wouldn't budge, and she knew that. So she opted not to press the issue and backed off for the moment, allowing Shauna to step forward. The girl seemed to have a bit more confidence now as she reached out towards the pokemon.

"Hey Chespin, you're not so sure about this either, are you? Wanna come with me so we can figure this journey thing out together?" She asked gently. Chespin looked at her carefully as it considered her words. A small smile appeared on Chespin's face and it nodded shyly at her, reaching out to her and letting her grab it's paw gently. Shauna seemed relieved as she reached out with her other hand and scooped up the little pokemon, cradling it like a baby against her chest while Froakie looked on in approval.

"Well, alright then. I wasn't expecting all three starters to go out today, but that's okay. Sycamore will be happy with that. Froakie, that means I'm starting with you. Are you alright with that?" Trevor asked. Froakie turned to him and smiled, leaping up to jump onto the boy, wriggling around until it was perched comfortably on his shoulder. With that taken care of, Trevor gestured to the rest of the items on the table.

"Okay so these are your tools for your journey. You'll need a pokedex to help you learn about the various pokemon you encounter. There are many pokemon out here in Kalos, so when you find one you should scan it, even if you already know about it because the dexes also record information on where pokemon are." He explained, Vixen nodding in confirmation.

"Right, I remember something like that when I started my journey. I found a Deino on a route that was nowhere near where they normally lived, so Professor Juniper's assistant was very interested." She said, thinking back to the moment fondly. I smiled as I realized she was probably describing the way she met Lola.

"Exactly, so that's why it is important to always scan wild pokemon you find. Anyway, the pokeballs are pretty self-explanatory, and we give you your first five for free. You are also encouraged to capture the pokemon you meet so that if the pokemon was there for unnatural reasons, such as a poacher dropping it off or it being chased out, you can protect it. A pokemon that is found in an environment it is not used to can have disastrous consequences, either on the pokemon or the environment itself. Just imagine if you found a Slugma in a forest, for example." Trevor said with a shudder.

"Well, that's not the only reason for the pokeballs though. It's meant to help you get a team set up so that you don't have to rely solely on your starter. That kind of pressure is not good for a pokemon after all." Tierno said, trying to make the situation a bit cheerier. Trevor smiled at him and nodded as he turned to the tablets.

"Now this last item is new, but Professor Sycamore feels it is important for trainers also. It's a Holo Caster, which was developed by the Professor's close friend, Lysander. It's a tablet that is networked into the information grid of Kalos. In addition to the news updates you'll get from Malva, who is not only a member of the Elite Four but is also a journalist, you can use it to send recorded messages to other Holo Caster owners." He explained. I tilted my head at the tablets, and was vaguely reminded of Colress, though they didn't look nearly as sophisticated as his.

"Okay but why does Professor Flirt think it's necessary to supply new trainers with them?" Celeste asked, causing everyone to stare at her.

"You just say whatever pops into your head, don't you?" I asked.

"Yup!" She beamed, making us roll our eyes.

"Anyway, to answer your question, he thinks it will be a good way for him to keep in touch with you. See, when you get to Lumiose Shauna and…what's your name again?" Trevor asked, looking at me.

"Hm? Me? My name is Aldith. By the way, is there any paperwork I have to go through to take this Fennekin?" I responded.

"Yeah I got them right here. Anyway, when you guys get to Lumiose, he wants you to stop by the lab and pick up something. I don't know what it is exactly, but he said only a person who intends on battling a lot can help him with this, and I just want to be a researcher. So when you get whatever it is he wants you to have, he wants to record your progress and give him updates." He said, reaching into his bag to pull out a folder. He pulled out sheets of paper and set them on the table, looking up at me and Shauna. I loosened my grip on Fennekin so it could perch on my shoulder in the same way Trevor's Froakie was on him, and took a seat to take the form. Vixen stretched her arm across the table and handed me a pen, which I took gratefully and began to fill out the form while Shauna did the same.

"So, ready to explain what you are planning on, Aldith?" Vixen asked. I smirked as I scribbled my information down, not looking up from my work.

"Well, I intended on letting Shauna pick first since this whole starter thing was about her to begin with, but this Fennekin had plans of its own, apparently. I told you, after I spoke with my mother I was going to go on a journey in Kalos. I want to do this the right way though." I explained, biting back a lump that began to form in my throat.

"What about Romeo?" Vixen asked. I sighed as I looked up from the table, passing the form onto Trevor and glancing at my purple cat. We locked eyes and said nothing, but nothing needed to be said. We had already talked about this last night while Vixen was out of earshot.

"It's time, isn't it buddy?" I said. Romeo gave me a sad smiled and nodded as I stood up, plucking Fennekin off my shoulder and setting it down on the table. I smiled at the pokemon and pet it, quietly telling it to stay put as I walked over to Romeo. I knelt down and embraced the cat tightly, feeling his head hang over my shoulder.

"I know I said this already, but I hope you understand this is nothing you did wrong, okay Romeo? You are a wonderful pokemon, and you taught me so much while I was in Team Plasma. I want you to be that kind of friend for Vixen now, okay?" I asked, pulling away. Romeo nodded and purred as I plucked his pokeball off my belt, standing up and holding it out to Vixen. She recoiled at first, shaking her head at me.

"What are you doing, Aldith? I-I can't take Romeo." She said in astonishment. I closed my eyes and shook my head, stepping towards her with my arm still outstretched.

"I need to make a fresh start, Vixen. I've been depending too much on Romeo AND you to help me get through. I can't keep relying on you guys to take care of me, and if I want to let go of my past, I have to let you both go, at least for a little while. I don't want to turn Romeo loose because he'll just follow me anyway, and I don't you to get lonely when you go home and realize that I'm not going to just stop by for the weekend, or turn up in Undella to play with you and Keldeo." I said, and I could see tears well up in Vixen's eyes. I didn't want to upset her, I really didn't. I knew she wouldn't like this either because she knew how much he meant to me, and she was going to fight against it to keep me from making what she thought might be a mistake. That's who she was, and who I wanted to be too. Romeo reached out with his tail and grabbed Vixen's wrist, pulling her arm up to meet mine so that she could grab the pokeball, but she was still hesitant to.

"Liepard." Romeo urged. Vixen reluctantly clasped her fingers around the pokeball, and as it left my hand it locked down.

"But…are you sure about this?" Vixen asked. I smiled and nodded at her as she looked at the capsule.

"Yeah Vixy, I'm sure. He'll make a great addition to your team. Romeo is a powerful pokemon, he was trained brutally by some of the scariest, meanest thugs in Unova to be strong and relentless. I can't think of anyone more deserving of a pokemon like that than a future member of the Unova Elite Four." I said, my voice cracking a bit. I inwardly cursed myself for faltering. I had to be strong for this or Vixen and Romeo would never agree to it. Thankfully, before they could try to use this to get me to change my mind, I was rescued by Fennekin. It leapt off the table and bounded over to me, climbing up my pants and shirt until it was clinging to my shoulder again and rubbing its cheek against mine.

"Fennekin!" It chirped, making me laugh. I reached up to pet it gratefully, nodding at Vixen.

"Besides, it's not like I'm giving up my only friend here. If Fennekin's fascination with me is any indication, then I think it'll be just as loyal as Romeo ever was. And hopefully it won't steal my socks and hide them every morning the way he did when he was a Purrloin." I said, casting a playful glare at Romeo. He smiled cheekily and puffed his chest out, refusing to let me shame him for his past actions. Vixen chuckled hollowly as she bent down to hug Romeo, looking up at me and Fennekin.

"Alright. I'll take good care of him." She assured me, standing up. I smiled at her and reached out to pull her into a hug, which Fennekin quickly joined.

"I know you will. There is no one I trust more to take him." I said, letting her go. I looked around to see everyone beaming at us, and turned my focus to Celeste, who seemed the most proud of what she saw. I reached up to pet Fennekin and turned to the table, grabbing one of the cases of pokeballs and a Holo Caster, striding over to Celeste and holding them out to her. Her eyes widened in surprise as she looked at my gesture, which drew confused sounds from everyone except Shauna, who was more relieved.

"What is this?" Celeste asked, staring at the objects in my hands.

"I want you to come with me. I was in your shoes once, believe it or not. My whole life was defined by a very pretty lie that this awful organization fed me, and when it all unraveled and the group was put down, I didn't know what to do anymore. Vixen took me with her to face the Pokemon League, and afterwards she told me that the best way to find oneself is to go on a journey." I explained, glancing at Shauna with a smile. She smiled appreciatively back, hugging her Chespin tightly.

"I….I'm not the brightest girl in the world. A lot of people think that I need someone to hold my hand all the time. I want to see if I can walk on my own, just once." She said. I nodded and turned back to Celeste, who seemed to be warmer to the idea.

"You didn't want to get in her way, and that's very nice of you. You're still hurting though, I can tell because I am too. Let's go together, Celeste." I asked. Celeste remained silent as she studied me, making no moves to take the objects I offered. A soft bleat behind her drew her attention, and we looked to see Angora poking her leg with one of her forelimbs. The little Mareep seemed to be pleading with Celeste to accept my offer, and the former coordinator sighed as she leaned down to pick up the electric sheep.

"You're in on this too, eh Angie? Alright. I'll go with you Aldith. I think I've done enough damage to this one-Rhyhorn town, I need to spread the love and chaos around Kalos. I'll gladly take you on as my chaperone." She said, making everyone laugh. She set Angie down and plucked the pokeballs and Holo Caster out of my hands, dancing over to the table to grab a light blue pokedex. Shauna and I sighed in relief, though for different reasons, as we turned to the table as well. I gestured for Shauna to go first, and she grabbed a bright pink pokedex, while I opted for a standard, dark red. I held the pokedex up to Fennekin, who tilted her head at it.

"I'll dislodge you if I try to move my backpack around to put my stuff in. You mind loading my backpack up for me instead?" I asked. Fennekin smiled and climbed up to straddle my neck, taking my pokedex. I heard the zipper of my backpack open, and with a smile I grabbed a Holo Caster and one of the pokeball cases, handing each pokeball and the tablet up until they were all packed and Fennekin zipped my backpack up again. It slid down and draped itself over my shoulder, burying its face in the crook of my neck while I reached up to pet it.

"I'm ready to go!" Celeste piped up. I laughed as my mother cleared her throat, and we turned to see four small boxes on the counter.

"Well, I can't say this is what I had in mind exactly when Shauna got her pokemon. The last twenty-four hours have been quite an emotional ride for me. My daughter suddenly shows up after being gone for almost five years, my best worker's friend is beginning her journey, the town nutjob is finally going to be leaving, and she's taking my daughter with her. Girls, I am very proud of each of you, and while I can't go with you on your journeys, I want to at least help you get started. Aldith, Shauna, Celeste, these boxes have my best, tastiest coffees inside of them. I want you to take these with you so that when you wake up in the morning and brew this, you know that no matter where you are, you have my support." She said, turning to Vixen.

"And I packed one for you as well. You brought my daughter back to me, and you helped her and protected her in ways I didn't know how. From the bottom of my heart, thank you." She said. Vixen smiled and nodded as we all walked up to take our boxes, but Vixen smacked our hands away.

"I'll carry these for you guys for now. Shauna, I'm sorry but you're gonna have to come with us for just a little while. We need to go to a pokemon center and pay a visit to the store. I'm going to treat you all to a little spree in the Master Prep Shop." Vixen said, sliding her backpack around until she was able to open it and load the boxes in.

"Aww Vixy, you don't have to." I said. She snorted at me as she packed up our coffee, shaking her head while she fixed her pack to its proper place.

"Nonsense, I insist. I'm gonna really miss you Aldith. I want to help you prepare as much as I can, and it doesn't get better than starting out with gear from the Master Prep Shop." She said. I chuckled at her as I crossed my arms, waiting until the others were ready to go.

"Well, the closest pokemon center is in Santalune City, which is on the other side of the Santalune Forest that's North of here. Chespin and I wouldn't mind help getting through there, there are a lot of Bug Types in Santalune Forest and if I remember right, then Grass Types don't like Bug Types very much." Shauna piped. Taylor nodded as he packed up his bag, slinging it onto his back carefully while Froakie shifted.

"Right, but I'm not gonna go with you guys. Tierno and I need to go back to Lumiose right away to turn in these forms and do some more work for him. We'll meet you guys there." Trevor said, turning around to the door. Tierno seemed a little downcast at first, but he brightened up and wandered over to Vixen, leaning down and whispering something in her ear. She smiled and chuckled, nodding at him and shooing him away. He beamed and happily trotted back to Trevor, humming a song as they left the shop.

"What was that about?" I asked. Vixen shook her head and chuckled as she started for the door, Romeo walking proudly beside her.

"He wanted to come with us because there's something he wants to get from the Shop. He asked me if I could get it for him anyway. So, we ready to go?" She asked, putting her hand on the door. Shauna, Celeste and I looked at each other and smiled, nodding as the two made their way to Vixen. I stopped and turned around to look at my mother.

"Sorry that I'm leaving again even though I just got home. I promise I won't just run off though. If I figure this Holo Caster thing out, I'll send you messages when I can." I told her. Mom smiled at me and shook her head.

"Don't you worry about that, just have fun on your journey. You can tell me all about it when you are done. Besides, I don't have a Holo Caster anyway, and I don't know that I want one just yet. Go on now, go have fun. And one of you turn the sign on the door so I can start getting customers, please." She said. I laughed as Shauna turned the sign to officially open the shop, and I walked to join them.

"So, shall we get going?" I asked. With one final nod to each other, Vixen led us out of the shop and into the city.

It was time for our journeys to begin!

* * *

TBC

Screw my due date, I was up until 3 writing this chapter.

I am immensely pleased with this chapter. Everything flowed smoothly and went almost exactly as planned. Vixen got Romeo and is going to stay with us until we get to Lumiose City, at which point she'll leave the group and begin heading home. I was debating about what to do with the leftover Froakie, because it would be a shame to let it just be a one-time character. I considered giving it to Vixen since Greninja is part dark type, but I actually already have her Elite Four team planned out, and giving a young pokemon to an experience trainer who has finished her journey would not be good for it.

So next chapter, we're going to go play in the forest, you'll get to know Aldith's new Fennekin a bit more, and maybe we'll catch a pokemon or two. I'll need to research what all lives there and what I could get away with-Ooooo I think I have an idea.

You'll see in chapter 5 ;)


	6. Chapter 5: Going Batty in the Woods

Maybe I should have thought this through.

"How about Juliet?"

"If there was a pokemon I would give that name to, it would be Grimsley's Liepard. Besides I'm not planning on using a theme to name my pokemon."

"Well, how about Flare then?"

"That's not bad, but I'll think of something. Save that for you if you catch a fire pokemon."

As we walked through Route 2, Shauna and I decided to come up with names for our new pokemon. She had settled on Lil' Ches for her Chespin, which wasn't exactly my cup of tea, but if it worked for them, then who was I to judge?

My Fennekin, on the other hand, didn't come so easy. We all tried our hand at various names, but she didn't like any of them, and I wasn't terribly fond of a lot of the suggestions myself. When Celeste's suggestions started getting silly, I opted to try and figure out a name myself.

"Fennekin, can I have my pokedex?" I asked. Fennekin shifted around to open my backpack, opening it up to retrieve the item. When the device appeared over my shoulder, I petted her softly and turned it on. I scrolled through until I found the Fennekin line, and selected the first entry.

"_Fennekin, the Fox pokemon. The tufts on Fennekin's ears glow with warmth when they are excited, and it can expel hot air that has been recorded as nearly four-hundred degrees. It is known to eat twigs, which is theorized to be a process for preparing for evolution._" It said in a smooth male voice. I blinked at it as Celeste bent down, picking up a stick and holding it out to me. Fennekin stretched out as far as she could and bit off a piece of the end, relaxing back on me again as she chewed the small bit of wood.

"Well whaddya know? She likes it!" Celeste said in fascination. I rolled my eyes and turned to Fennekin, smiling warmly at her.

"Fennekin? Listen, as much as I would love to own a Delphox one day, I don't want to force you. It's your body, it's up to you to decide if you want to evolve and how far. Even if you stay as a Fennekin forever, or want to be a Braixen and a Braixen alone, you'll still be my friend, okay?" I said. Fennekin smiled and rubbed her face against me, and I heard a pokeball open in front of me. Lola appeared beside Vixen and smiled warmly at us, allowing Vixen to lean on her.

"We'll translate for you." She said simply. Fennekin blinked in confusion at first, and Lola warbled something to her that sent the fox into a happy frenzy. She immediately started chattering at the Hydreigon, which caught the dragon pokemon off guard. Vixen laughed as Fennekin finished talking, and she zoned out to get Lola's translation.

"Okay Lola says that she was speaking a little too fast, but she managed to get the key details. Fennekin says she wants to be strong and useful, and she picked you because she thinks you are smart enough to make the right decisions. I think she wants you to decide." Vixen told me. I blinked and turned to Fennekin, who was eagerly waiting for my response.

"But how do you know that? You took one look at me and decided I was the one. What is it about me that makes you think I'm your ideal trainer?" I asked. Fennekin tilted her head as she thought it over, turning back to Lola and speaking to her, though a bit slower so that the Hydreigon didn't miss anything.

"Fennekin says she doesn't know. She just did. As soon as she saw you, she knew you were the one." Vixen translated.

"Is it my Affinity? I have Fire and Dark." I told her. Fennekin shook her head and rested it against mine, chattering at Lola again.

"No, it's not that. She was attracted by your Affinity at first, she admits, but there's more to it than that. Her mother always told her to trust her gut, and her gut says that she is meant to be with you, and that you will know what is best for her." Vixen said. I hummed and walked over to sit by a tree, pulling Fennekin into my lap while the others sat in a semi-circle in front of us.

"So, what do you wanna do?" Shauna asked. I thought it over as I petted Fennekin, holding my pokedex up.

"Well, if she doesn't really care one way or the other, then I think I still want a Delphox. Let's continue with the pokedex, Fennekin." I said, moving onto the next entry.

"_Braixen, the Fox pokemon, and the evolved form of Fennekin. When Fennekin evolve into Braixen, a large stick appears nestled in the base of its tail. Braixen uses this stick to create powerful fire and psychic attacks. Despite not appearing to be different from any other sticks, Braixen's wand does not seem to be damaged by the flames that appear when Braixen wields it._" It said.

"Well that's interesting, Braixen sounds like a witch. Maybe Spellbinder? What do you think of that?" I asked Fennekin. She made a gagging sound and shook her head rapidly, muttering something to Lola. The Hydreigon chuckled as Vixen's eyes glazed over again, and she came out of it with a smirk.

"She says that sounds tacky. It would work if she was male, maybe, but she thinks you are getting somewhere." Vixen said. I sighed and scratched one of Fennekin's ears, moving onto the last entry.

"_Delphox, the Fox pokemon and the final evolution of Fennekin. The fur on Delphox's arms is tightly woven like cloth sleeves, and the inside of them have ridges that go all the way up to its shoulders, allowing Delphox to store things inside. Delphox like to stare into the flames on the end of their wands, allowing them to achieve a focused state and access powerful abilities such as seeing into the future._" It said. I stared at the holographic figure that stood on top of my pokedex, and I absentmindedly scratched Fennekin's ears.

"You know who that sounds like to me? There's this gym leader in the Kanto region who is said to have psychic powers. She can move things around with her mind and actually very rarely uses her arms for anything anymore." Celeste said. Vixen hummed and crossed her arms, leaning against Lola again.

"Yeah, Caitlin of the Unova Elite Four has psychic powers too, though they're not quite clear cut like that. Supposedly, when she was at the Battle Frontier in Sinnoh, her powers manifested as shockwaves that shattered cement like glass." Vixen said, causing a shocked caw to erupt from Celeste.

"Wait, Crazy Princess Caitlin is in UNOVA? As a member of its ELITE FOUR? Sweetskullonavullaby I thought she was locked up! That chick was NUTS. When she was first instated as a Frontier Brain she nearly killed her opponents every time they defeated her. Her butler had to take over and battle in her place because she was so far off her rocker!" Celeste said, staring at Vixen in horror. Vixen blinked in confusion, exchanging glances with an equally-confused Lola, before turning back to Celeste with a dangerous smile.

"Well she's vastly improved since then. She's mouthy, but Caitlin takes everything in stride. All I've seen of her powers is telekinesis strong enough to hold back a wave of lava from an erupting volcano, and an empathic ability that allows her to bring peace of mind to people who are traumatized. Whatever happened with her in Sinnoh, I don't really care." Vixen said.

"Wow Vixy, you are the last person I would expect to jump to Caitlin's defense." I mused. She grinned cheekily at me as Celeste held her hands up in front of her.

"I didn't mean anything by it, sorry! Anyway as I was saying earlier, that Gym Leader in Kanto is said to be able to see into the future, though she denies it. I forget what her name is though….Samantha? Stephanie? OH WAIT! Now I remember, her name is Sabrina!" Celeste said, her mood going haywire in just that one statement alone. I rolled my eyes at her in exasperation when I felt something rub against my chest. I looked down to see Fennekin staring at Celeste excitedly, her tail flailing to convey her happiness.

"Oh? You have an idea for your name, Fennekin?" I asked.

"Fennekin! Fen fen fen fennekin!" She yipped, making Lola chuckle.

"She says she likes the sound of Sabrina. Being named after a Gym Leader would be awesome, especially if they resembled her final evolution. If you want her to be a Delphox, then she wants to be called Sabrina." Vixen translated. I laughed and scooped my pokemon up, cuddling her while she licked my neck.

"Alright, Sabrina it is. I hope the rest of my pokemon aren't as hard to name as you were." I teased. Sabrina snickered as she wriggled in my grip, and I looked up at the entrance to Santalune Forest on my right. The others followed my gaze and kept silent, though Shauna looked nervous at the sight.

"It's kinda dark in there, isn't it?" She whimpered, hugging Lil' Ches tightly. Celeste smiled as she patted Shauna comfortingly.

"Now don't you worry, we're all here, and if it gets too dark, Angie'll shed a little light on things. That bauble on her tail? It glows when she's got a current of electricity going." She said. Vixen stood up and held her hand out to Shauna to help pull her up.

"See my right eye here? The purple one? It's robotic. My boyfriend made this for me to replace the eye I lost fighting Team Plasma in Unova. It not only lets me see, but it can also zoom in, and it has an infrared lens that lets me see even in the dark. I'll be able to see any creepy-crawlies that try to sneak up on us." She assured. Shauna smiled, and the two of them waited for me and Celeste. With a look at Sabrina, I smiled and stood up, tightening my grip on Sabrina while her back legs and tail dangled under my arms. Vixen and Shauna ventured into the forest with me and Celeste close behind.

"Wow, this is so beautiful…" Celeste said breathlessly, looking around in wonder. Sometime after we had entered the forest, we decided to stop to take a moment to appreciate the beauty around us. Shauna began to feel silly about being scared, and found she actually enjoyed the serene environment.

Santalune Forest itself certainly didn't disappoint. The trees were only loosely packed together, just close enough for their branches to intertwine, but far enough apart that they could be maneuvered around. Light filtered down from between the leaves in rays that stretched halfway to the ground. The cries of various pokemon echoed all around us, and I had a feeling that if we started yelling, our voices would echo too.

"Watch, in about three seconds, something's gonna come barreling out and throw us into a panic." Vixen said, making Lola, Romeo, and me laugh.

"What makes you say that?" Celeste asked.

"Because that is pretty much how my entire journey went. Go to a place, get in a fight, almost die, rinse and repeat. I can't tell you how many times something has tried to kill me just when I thought everything was awesome." Vixen explained. Shauna grew nervous and cuddled Lil' Ches. Vixen was instantly guilty and moved to comfort the girl, but I got there first.

"Aww don't worry, the only reason that kept happening to Vixen was because she got involved in a mess that she had no business being in. There was this group of bad guys called Team Plasma that went around stealing pokemon, among other things, and when they took her pokemon she took them back. That, and her close relationship with some of the big names in Unova was enough for the leader to decide she was a threat." I told her. Shauna seemed to be comforted by my words, and Vixen pulled out her Master Ball, showing it to everyone.

"And besides, if something does come charging out, I've got this. This pokeball contains a big, scary-looking dragon pokemon who could freeze over the entire region if he wanted to. And he's completely at my beck and call. We're safe." She said. Shauna and Celeste stared at the ball in wonder, completely entranced by it and Vixen's description.

"NOIBAT!" A voice cried out. Suddenly, out of the trees, a small form darted out. I couldn't see it very well, but it raced towards us and snatched the Master Ball right out of Vixen's hands.

"Yuyu! Lola, Romeo, get it back!" Vixen cried. Lola snarled as she and Romeo took off after the creature, but it had already disappeared into the brush. We started to follow the pokemon when we heard some rustling behind us, and I turned to see a small, purple-and-grey, bat-like pokemon sitting on a tree branch and looking at us sadly. Celeste was the first to draw her Pokedex, and she held it up to scan the creature.

"_Noibat, the Sound Wave pokemon. Noibat hunt by producing ultrasonic waves from its ears, which they use to stun or even kill targets._" The pokedex said. The Noibat gave us an apologetic smile and fluttered out of the tree, hovering in front of Vixen. Lola and Romeo were instantly at her side while Sabrina and Angora growled.

"Noibat, bat bat bat. Noibat bat?" It asked. Lola chattered angrily at it and used one of her puppet heads to point at Vixen, then at the direction the thief had gone.

"Fenne fennekin!" Sabrina berated. Noibat looked even guiltier and shook its head softly.

"Noibat bat, noibat." It said, fluttering past Lola and Vixen. It hovered next to us, and did something that caused our pokemon to wince, which I had to guess was the ultrasonic waves the pokedex said it could produce.

"Lola says that he wants to help us get Yuyu back. The thing that took the Master Ball was his sister, and apparently she causes a lot of trouble." Vixen said. Noibat squeaked something at her, and we all quieted down so that he could hear. After a few seconds, he turned to us and nodded, flying after his wayward sister.

"I think he found them, let's go!" I said, taking off after him.

"Right!" Responded the others, and I heard their footfalls behind me. We ran as hard as we could behind Noibat, counting on him to lead the way. We soon came up to a clearing, and he stopped in the middle.

"Noibat, what gives? Where is she?" Vixen asked anxiously. Noibat hovered and looked around, his brow furrowing.

"Noibat, noibat bat…" He said, trailing off.

"Maybe she's hiding, Noibat, can you find her with your soundwaves?" I asked. Noibat shook his head and squeaked, fluttering up to a tree to investigate. Vixen glared as she grabbed one of her pokeballs, expanding it and holding it out in front of her.

"If she's hiding, then we'll find her. Nothing can hide from Pepper." She said as her Vullaby appeared in front of her. The little bird cooed in wonder and she looked around excitedly.

"Vullaby?" She asked no one in particular.

"Pepper, something stole Yuyu. The thief is going to look like that Noibat up there most likely. Do your thing and investigate every nook and cranny until you find the Master Ball. Understand?" Vixen said. Pepper beamed and chirped excitedly, and she set out to begin her search. Sabrina leapt down from my shoulders and faced Vixen, wagging her tail a couple of times before running into a different direction. I smiled as I ran after her.

"We'll help you Vixen. Wait for me, Sabrina!" I said, wading through some tall grass.

"Let's meet back here!" Shauna's voice called as the others began their search.

* * *

TBC

….My reasons for naming Sabrina are a bit less….glamourous than that. I named my Fennekin Sabrina because the first thing I thought when I realized Delphox was a witch was Sabrina the Teenaged Witch. I didn't even like that show, but here we are XD. I decided that making it a homage to the Kanto Gym Leader would go much better. Sabrina was actually my favorite gym leader in Kanto, but sadly she has nothing to do with my Delphox XD.

Oh my god, 3 concurrent chapters, and chapter 6 is well on its way. This is scary guys o.O

So we found a pair of Noibat in the middle of the newbie forest, and one of them stole Vixen's Kyurem! That female Noibat better not open it up, or all hell will break loose XD.

Let's see what unfolds in Chapter 6!


	7. Chapter 6: Batshit Teammates

It must have been ten minutes since we began looking for Noibat's sister. Sabrina and I throughly checked the forest floor, leaving no stone unturned and no tree unchecked. Sabrina asked the various pokemon we met along the way, but none of them had seen her OR Vixen's Master Ball. We started to get discouraged and decided to make our way back to that clearing when we heard some shouting.

"Gotcha, you little thief! Give that back!" Echoed a voice through the forest.

"That was Celeste, she found her! Sabrina, do you know what direction that was?" I asked my Fennekin. Her ears twitched a couple of times before she let them droop, shaking her head sadly.

"Fennekin…" She said. I smiled and reached down to pet her when a flash of purple caught my eye. The other Noibat was hovering in front of me, smiling, and he turned around.

"You know where they are? Take us to them!" I said. Noibat immediately flew off, and I scooped up Sabrina and took off after him. We rushed through the forest as the sounds of an intense battle got louder and louder, and soon I was joined by Vixen and Shauna, carrying their smaller pokemon in their arms while Lola and Romeo followed close behind.

When we came up to another clearing, I saw Angora and Noibat's sister in the thick of battle. Noibat proved to be a challenging opponent for the slow Mareep, darting around her constantly and biting at her wool. What Angora lacked in speed though, she made up for in defense and patience. She didn't seem fazed at all by Noibat's constant Leech Life attacks, and only moved to keep her in her sights.

"That's it Angie! Just a little more!" Celeste called. While Noibat was distracted, Vixen let Pepper down and I watched the Vullaby wander off, presumably to look for the Master Ball.

"Maaa!" Angie cried, drawing my attention back to the battle. Noibat was hovering in front of her with her mouth hanging open, a small, ringing squealing sound emerging from it. Angora tried her best, but she couldn't drown out the Supersonic. She reeled in confusion, trying to snap herself out of it while Celeste gritted her teeth.

"Angie, use Thunder Wave!" Celeste cried. Sparks of electricity crackled along Angora's wool, reaching out around her. Noibat squeaked and flapped away, narrowly dodging the attack. Celeste growled low in her throat, looking at her pokemon and becoming sad.

"You can't do anything like this, can you? Sorry Angie, come on back." She said, holding out a pokeball to recall her. As soon as the Mareep was in, Noibat darted in and snatched it out of her hands.

"Noibat!" She sang, sticking her tongue out and pulling her eyelid down at Celeste.

"Hey! You rotten little-get back here!" Celeste cried. Noibat laughed at her, keeping the pokeball firmly clasped in her feet.

"Vulla!" Pepper cried, popping out from a bush. She had her wings outstretched and to our collective relief, the Master Ball was clutched between them. Noibat squeaked in surprise, chattering angrily and charging towards Pepper. The Vullaby squawked and froze in place.

"Pepper, use Dark Pulse!" Vixen cried. Pepper's beak opened and she shot out a small beam of black and purple rings at Noibat, but she quickly dodged and slammed into her. Pepper's grip loosened on the Master Ball and it went rolling off, making Noibat ignore Pepper and chase after it's prize. A large, blue orb came flying out from next to me, breaking over Noibat to stun her. Her brother slammed into her then, making her drop Angora's pokeball next to the Master Ball, and we watched the two Noibat duke it out in the air, squeaking angrily at each other.

"Sabrina, go get them." I whispered to my Fennekin. She nodded and leapt out of my arms to run at the pokeballs, and when the female Noibat saw this she broke away from her brother, speeding to intercept Sabrina. Sabrina growled and spat out an Ember attack at Noibat, but she just batted the flames away with her wings. Her brother tackled into her again, sending them tumbling to the ground. Sabrina joined the fray then and the three pokemon wrestled around on the ground, inching closer and closer to the pokeballs. One of the Noibat came flying out of the brawl and landed right on top of the Master Ball, pressing the button and causing it to open.

"Oh no." Vixen and I said in sync. Sabrina and the female Noibat continued to fight as the male Noibat watched a flash of light stretch out over him. A cold wind blew around us, and we saw slivers of ice gather around the light. When the light faded, a large, grey pokemon stood in the clearing. His iced-over wings sparkled in the light as he watched the pokemon squabble with cold, yet patient, yellow eyes.

'_ENOUGH!_' Yuyu's voice boomed, making us all clutch our heads. Sabrina and Noibat ceased their fighting instantly, my Fennekin yelping at the sight of Kyurem and running back to me. She stood protectively in front of me, though I could tell she was scared out of her mind by the way her legs shook, while Yuyu glared at the female Noibat. The male Noibat was still trembling at his feet, unable to move as Yuyu glared at his sister. Yuyu began growling at the small pokemon, making her shrink down and whimper. Upon hearing this, her brother snapped out of it and rushed to his sister, standing between her and Yuyu with his wings outstretched.

"Noibat bat noibat!" He chattered defiantly, though his legs shook from fear. Yuyu stopped growling and tilted his head, blinking at the Noibat.

'_If I want her I'll have to get through you first? That can be arranged._' Yuyu said, making Celeste and Shauna gasp. The male Noibat growled and opened his mouth, forming a huge Dragon Pulse orb. He fired it at Yuyu, but it disintegrated before it could reach him.

'_That the best you can do? This will be easier than I thought._' Yuyu chided. Vixen sighed in exasperation and walked towards the icy dragon.

"Yuyu, knock it off. You're scaring everybody. Pepper! Are you okay!?" She said, yelling out for her pokemon. Pepper chirped weakly from the bushes, and Yuyu moved his head to the sound. He reached into the bush with his head and rasped at Pepper, emerging moments later with her halfway into his mouth.

"Oh no!" Shauna yelped.

"Hey you big bully! Put her down and pick on someone your own size!" Celeste called out, running towards the Kyurem.

'_Like you?_' Yuyu asked. Celeste yelped and stopped abruptly, falling flat on her face in the grass while Vixen and I laughed.

"I said stop it, come on Yuyu, you're above this." Vixen said, reaching up to his head.

'_No I'm not. Sarcasm is one of the highest forms of humor in my opinion. And you love my sarcastic quips._' He replied, lowering his head carefully. He opened his mouth wider, allowing Vixen to pluck Pepper out. She cradled the little bird in her arms and cooed comfortingly at her, reaching down with one arm to grab Pepper's pokeball.

"Thanks for finding him Pepper, you get a good rest." She said, recalling the bird. Once Pepper was safely inside, Vixen ducked under Yuyu's head and crawled under his body, grabbing her Master Ball and Celeste's pokeball that held her dear Mareep. Having retrieved the items, Vixen crawled back out and brushed herself off, pulling Celeste's pokeball out of her pocket and walking to where Celeste was hunched on the ground. I glanced at the still scared, and at the same time confused, Noibat, who hadn't moved an inch in all this time.

"Hey guys, it's okay, he's not going to hurt you. Yuyu is actually a big softy once you get to know him. Like a giant stuffed animal with none of the fluff." I said, earning a spike of laughter from both him and Vixen.

'_My sister might have all of the fluff, but I got the wit, and I think that is far more valuable._' Yuyu panned.

"What did Zekrom get?" Vixen asked as she held out Angora's pokeball to Celeste, who took it gratefully.

'_Charm. He could have anything he wants and he knows it, all he has to do is say something and everyone melts at his feet._' Yuyu said, making me and Vixen laugh.

"So….what kind of pokemon is this?" Shauna asked tentatively. Vixen and I smiled at her as Yuyu rumbled in response.

'_I am what humans call a Legendary pokemon. My name is Kyurem, and it is my duty to maintain balance wherever I go. My trainer, Vixen, is my chosen Hero who will help me maintain balance in her lifetime._' He told her.

"We call him Yuyu though so that people aren't intimidated by him. Of course, he does have a bit of trouble controlling his temper when someone or something steals him away." Vixen said, casting a glare at the Noibat. The female Noibat squeaked and started flailing her wings.

"Noibat bat bat noibat noi!" She screeched, sitting down and staring at the ground with wide eyes while she continued to squeak rapidly. Yuyu turned and blinked at her, unfazed when her brother covered her protectively with his wings.

'_Oh dear, I might have gone a little too far in frightening her. I just wanted to teach her a lesson._' Yuyu said, backing up to sit down. His huge, icy tail nestled between two trees that frosted over from the touch.

"Good job Yuyu." Vixen said dryly. I rolled my eyes and bent down to scoop up Sabrina, and I looked up to see the male Noibat standing in front of me, looking nervous.

"What's the matter little guy? Yuyu's not going to hurt you, I promise." I assured him. He smiled and shook his head, turning to Yuyu. He swallowed audibly and carefully walked over to him.

"Noibat?" He asked. Yuyu nodded and leaned his massive head down to Noibat's level, and stayed still as the little pokemon chattered something at him. Yuyu nodded every now and again as Noibat talked to him, and pulling away to look at us.

'_He is very sorry about all the trouble that his sister has caused. That wild behavior is what got her thrown out of Terminus Cave in the East. When she was exiled from the clan he went with her to keep her safe, but he can't control her, and everywhere they go she wreaks havoc. He has it in his head that since humans have tamed me, maybe they could help his sister. Do any of you want a Noibat?_' Yuyu asked. We blinked at each other as our attention turned to the female Noibat who was still petrified by Yuyu's presence, and before any of us could react, Celeste bolted forward and snatched her off the ground, holding her in front of her face.

"I'll gladly take you, you little brat. That will give me plenty of chances to pay you back for trying to steal my Mareep. Your name is Sasha and you are mine forever now. Got that?" Celeste asked. The Noibat blinked at first as she processed Celeste's words, and she glared and hissed at the girl. An angry chirp from her brother silenced her, and she seemed to realize she had no choice. The little bat snorted and turned her nose up, chattering something that made Yuyu chuckle.

'_She agrees, but only because that means she can create all the trouble she wants and not get blamed for it. If you want her so badly, then you can have all the blame when she wreaks havoc._' Yuyu translated. Celeste grinned at her as she held her closer, making Sasha glare suspiciously at her.

"Honey, you don't even know the meaning of the word 'havoc', not until you've seen the damage _I_ can do." Celeste said. Sasha grinned at her, maybe thinking that being captured wouldn't be so bad after all, and when Celeste released her she just hovered in front of her. Celeste reached into her bag and pulled out a pokeball, expanding it and holding it out to Sasha. Though she hesitated at first, Sasha smacked the pokeball with her wing, and the capsule pulled her inside. It shook rather violently three times before it pinged, marking the successful capture of the Noibat. Once she was successfully captured, the pokeball burst open again, and Sasha fluttered over to perch on Celeste's head.

"Noibat." She chirped happily, making herself at home in Celeste's hair.

"Hey! My hair takes forever to make up! Dang it Sasha!" She complained. I blinked slowly at Celeste as Sasha snickered, wiggling in her hair some more.

"But….it's just a ponytail…there is no way it takes that long. I could probably pull mine back in a second." I said, touching one of my curls. Celeste glared at me and crossed her arms.

"It takes a lot of work to make a PERFECT ponytail! If you don't do it right then some hair bunches up on top of your head or under the ponytail, and if you try to fix it after that it makes your hair stick out and look stringy! Sasha you get out of there right now!" She snapped, glaring upwards. Sasha made no attempts to move, finding herself perfectly comfortable in the nest she had made on Celeste. She grinned in smug satisfaction and folded her wings, opting to take a nap. Celeste's eye twitched in annoyance, but she gave up quietly, and it was all we could do not to laugh at her.

We heard a small squeak, and turned to see Sasha's brother looking at Celeste sadly. He nodded approvingly at them and began to flap his wings, fluttering up into the air. He chattered at his sister and started for a random direction, and Sabrina turned to me with a sad look. I nodded at her and walked into the clearing.

"Hey wait buddy!" I called. Noibat stopped and turned around, tilting his head curiously at me.

"Noi?" He squeaked. I smiled and pulled my backpack around, digging through it until I found a pokeball, and held it out to him.

"Why don't you come with me? I'm gonna be traveling around with your sister's trainer, and I don't see why I should separate you two. Plus, you look like you could use some help with that Dragon Pulse. What do you say?" I asked. Noibat blinked rapidly at me, as though he couldn't believe his luck. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at me, like he thought I might have been lying, but his eyes softened up when he saw I didn't pull it away.

"Noibat bat noi, noi noibat noibat." He said, making Yuyu chuckle.

'_He says he will happily accept your offer, both to keep his sister safe and to work on Dragon Pulse._' Yuyu translated. Noibat fluttered over and perched on my outstretched arm, grabbing the pokeball from my hand and turning it over in his wings.

"Noi noibat noi, bat noibat noi noi. Noibat noi." He said, poking the pokeball button. It pulled him inside, rolling back into my hand. Yuyu rumbled as the ball shook ever so slightly in my grip before pinging a successful capture.

'_He said that an Altaria tried to teach him Dragon Pulse to deal with his sister when they were exiled. He hopes you can help him master it._' Yuyu translated. I smiled as I tossed the pokeball up, letting my new pokemon out. Unlike Sasha, he waited for me to hold my arms out before he landed on me, letting me cuddle him.

"I'll be happy to help you work on it. You've got a lot of power in that Dragon Pulse from what I saw when you hit Sasha with it. How do you like the name Boomer?" I asked. He looked up at me and smiled warmly, nodding in agreement as he settled in my arms, and when I looked up to see Sasha's reaction, she had a pleased, tranquil look on her face, and her eyes remained closed.

"Congrats on the new pokemon Aldith! Boomer is such a cutie too." Vixen said, walking up to me. She reached out to gently stroke Boomer's head, turning around to face Yuyu.

'_Yes?_' He asked.

"So, ready to go back in your pokeball? Or would you like something to eat first? It's been about a week since you ate last…" She said, feeling guilty. Yuyu rumbled and smiled at her.

'_More like two weeks, and it's fine. I do not require more than the occasional morsel every now and then, but it does get a bit uncomfortable to be hungry. A little food will do me good, and the rest of you as well._' Yuyu said. Vixen smiled and nodded at him, walking over to sit in front of him.

"Alright, now is a good time for lunch anyway. Come on guys, I've got plenty for all of us." Vixen said, pulling some containers out of her bag.

Celeste called Angora back out while Vixen brought out the rest of her pokemon, and we all gathered around as she reheated some sort of pasta dish on Sorrel's neck flames. The smell of the cooking food made hungry eyes peer out around us, which made Shauna feel nervous. A quick growl from Yuyu sent them all scattering, and enamored Shauna to him.

After our food finished cooking, we all sat down to eat, and Vixen pulled out a large roast from her bag, tossing the slab of meat up for Yuyu to snap out of the air. Now that she was less scared of him, Shauna decided she wanted to help feed Yuyu, and Vixen gave her another raw roast. The meat was heavy in her hands, but she managed to haul it up and offer it to Yuyu, who took it gently and gratefully from her. Vixen smiled and gave her a wet cloth to wipe the blood off her hands so that she could eat, and her Zoroark, Zachary, continued to feed Yuyu while we all settled down to enjoy our lunch and listen to some of Vixen's stories.

When we finished our lunches, we cleaned up and started to recall our pokemon. Much to Celeste's annoyance, Sasha refused to stay in her pokeball and kept popping out of it to land in her hair every single time Celeste recalled her.

"Dangit Sasha, stop it! Stay in your ball you irritating little-" Celeste said, recalling her for the millionth time. Sasha popped right back out and settled on her head again, humming a mocking tone at her. It was pretty funny to watch, but Boomer got tired of watching her be difficult, and he squeaked in annoyance at her. Sasha pouted and stuck her tongue out at Boomer, but when Celeste recalled her she didn't pop out again.

"Criminy, thanks Boomer!" She chirped, sighing in relief. He nodded at her as I recalled him and picked up a very full and happy Sabrina, waiting for the others to be ready.

Finally, everything was packed up and all of the pokemon except for Sabrina, Angora, Lil' Ches and Romeo were back in their pokeballs, and we began to make our way through the rest of Santalune Forest. I myself was somewhat glad that Sasha's antics got us sidetracked, because we got to explore more of the forest thanks to our pursuit of her. The path to Santalune City was actually pretty straightforward, and if we hadn't spent so much time chasing after her, we wouldn't have spent so much time in the forest as we did. I didn't dare voice that out loud of course, because Vixen was still pretty irritated by the whole event. If there was one thing I knew about her, it was that she didn't take kindly to her pokemon being stolen. That was perfectly understandable though, given what happened the last time she had a pokemon stolen.

Soon, we had left Santalune Forest, and after a brisk walk through the short path known as Route 3, we came into the quiet town of Santalune City. Mercifully, the Pokemon Center was literally right in front of us, and I wanted to thank whoever it was that plotted out Santalune City for placing it right at the end of the route. Santalune Forest looked like it could get crazy for new trainers who didn't have an Elite Four Apprentice with a giant ice dragon with them, so it was nice to know that once they got through it, they could recover almost immediately.

"Alright guys, let's pop into the Center. While our pokemon are resting, we'll head into the store and I'll get you all settled for your journey." Vixen said happily, striding over to the building while Romeo walked beside her. He looked back at us briefly, as though hurrying us, and without hesitation I trotted after them, Shauna and Celeste behind me.

This was going to be fun!

* * *

TBC

First of all, a big thank you to LolaHydreigon for giving Lola: An Underdog Story its 450th review! And I am flattered that you compared me to Ysavvryl, in fact, she (I think she's a girl anyway) is a big inspiration to me in terms of fanfiction, and her Black and White and BW2 stories ClicheStorm and ClicheStorm 2 were a driving force to Lola. Her writing style in those fanfics contributed a lot to who Vixen is and how she ticked, and how the story flowed overall. I would LOVE to work with her sometime, if only on a single chapter of LDR or a oneshot or something like that, but I don't want to bother her by asking about a collab, and I don't know if she has even read Lola OR LDR and I feel like I'd just be another excited fan pestering her to read my story (not that the people who ask me to read their stories are pests, I very much enjoy them ^^).

Holy balls, I am on a roll. I actually finished this chapter YESTERDAY *it was originally part of chapter 5, but it got so long*. This is just like the early days of Lola, isn't it? Oh god, I hope this doesn't mean I'll fall into that pattern again. I refuse to! You guys get chapters by Sunday Night at the latest and that's final! You hear me, Muse?! *shakes fist*

Now that we got that out of the way, let's talk chapter highlights. I actually own both Sasha and Boomer in Y, and I caught them both separately in Terminus Cave so I dunno if they are related or not. Sasha is used for flying around if I don't have a flier already in my party, and Boomer is the Tailwinding Glass Cannon in my competitive team. After he sets up Tailwind, he blasts everything with Hurricane, Dragon Pulse, and Focus Blast until he goes down. Now, is Aldith gonna follow that path with him? I dunno yet. I know what she ultimately ends up doing, but I dunno if competitive battling is apart of that or not. We'll see.

I figured I could get away with having a Noibat obtained so early in the story because anyone who has tried to raise a Noibat from birth without stuffing it with rare candies or using a higher-leveled pokemon to power-level it knows that being a Noibat Trainer means SUFFERING. Go play Pokemon Reborn, catch a Noibat as soon as you can, see how many battles you win with it until it evolves into Noivern. Then you will know how painful raising a young one can be XD. No wonder they make you wait until late-game to catch one, being a Dragon type has nothing to do with it.

Anyway, now that we are officially in Santalune City, we're gonna watch four girls go on a massive shopping spree. As a girl who enjoys shopping myself, this is going to be fun. I can't promise I won't go overboard, but I will do my very best not to lol.

Into 7 we go!


	8. Chapter 7: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

This was a bad idea.

For all you guys out there, if you see a group of four girls entering a store, RUN. As subdued as Shauna is, as calm as Vixen and I are, the second we set foot in the Master Prep Shop, any sanity we had went flying out the window.

"Have fun girls!" Vixen said as she waltzed over to the bags. Shauna and Celeste wasted no time in carrying out the request, and while Celeste dove into the clothing section, Shauna charged for the camping supplies. I smiled warmly as I decided on where to go first, and was startled by a ringing sound that came from my backpack. I took my bag off and set it down to dig through it, pulling out my Holo Caster. The center of the Holo Caster glowed, and an image of a woman with curly hair and large-rimmed glasses sitting at a desk was projected above it. She had a friendly, though serious look on her face as she began to speak.

"_Hello and welcome to the Kalos Holo Caster, I am your lovely reporter, Malva, but right now I'm coming to you as a member of the Kalos Elite Four. We have finally discovered the reason behind the series of fierce pokemon attacks on Route Ten. Our Champion, Diantha, has managed to fight her way through the pokemon to a grove that contains the Tree of Life._

_After assuring the wild pokemon that no harm will come to Xerneas while it slumbers, Diantha has established a security force around the perimeter consisting of the best Gym Trainers supplied by the Cyllage City and Shalour City Gyms. _

_Travelers are urged to stay on the path when traveling to Geosenge Town, and if you find one of the guards, you are to turn away immediately or you will be detained. I myself have ventured into the grove and set up a few surveillance cameras, so if you wish to see the Tree of Life, you may go to my website to view the live footage of it._

_I repeat, do not seek passage around the guards to get to the Tree of Life. If you must be on Route Ten, then continue onto your destination and let the Bringer of Life sleep._" When the message ended, the woman disappeared, and the Holo Caster turned itself off. I heard a low whistle come from the back of the store, and looked up to see Shauna staring at her Holo Caster with wide eyes.

"Wow, they found Xerneas?" She said. I smiled as I put my Holo Caster away, grabbing my pokedex instead.

"Sounds like it. Wow, that is incredible." I said, making Celeste and Vixen turn to me.

"Who is Xerneas?" They asked in sync. I blinked stupidly at them until I remembered they weren't native to Kalos, and they didn't know much, if anything, about our history.

"Xerneas is one of the Legendary pokemon of Kalos, and it is revered much in the same way Reshiram and Zekrom are in Unova." I explained, pulling up Xerneas' entry in my pokedex.

"_Xerneas, the Life pokemon. It roams around to replenish lands ravaged by death and decay, and when it is using its powers, its blue horns turn yellow, shining in seven different colors. Even after using up its power and becoming a tree, Xerneas continues to breathe life into its resting place._" The pokedex said.

"Yeah, Xerneas has the power to breathe life into anyone and anything. Any land that has been touched by its hooves will become strong and healthy, and those who are touched by its horns are said to be cured of all ailments." Shauna added.

"However when a lot of its power is used, Xerneas has to sleep and regain its strength. When it needs to rest, it finds a nice, fertile forest and lays down, eventually becoming a tree, which everyone has taken to calling the Tree of Life. In this form, Xerneas and the forest become connected and they feed off of each other, the trees collect energy for the Tree of Life, and the Tree of Life supplies them with portions of its power to protect them from disease and damage." I said, walking over to inspect the bags with Vixen so that I could get a new bag for myself.

"But the Tree of Life can also be used by humans too. Somewhere in history, someone discovered that you can sheer off part of the Tree of Life and use it to make a potion that will grant you eternal life. Naturally, this hurts Xerneas, and makes it take longer to regain its strength, so pokemon get really aggressive whenever they find the Tree. I didn't know that there were a lot of pokemon attacks near Geosenge, but it makes sense since Xerneas is near." Shauna finished, going back to picking out her camping supplies.

"People would harm their deity for their own gain? And for something like eternal life? I don't think I'd enjoy that very much. I think I'd get bored of it after awhile." Vixen said, pulling a yellow bag that had a long strap off the rack.

"How come you're getting a new bag? And you'd be surprised how many people would want to live forever. Kalos history is riddled with people like that. If we weren't killing each other, we were looking for Xerneas so we could live forever." I said, pushing bag after bag aside to find one I liked.

"It's for Tierno, he asked me to get him a bag because he is constantly filling his normal backpack up. And yeesh, here I thought Unova was bloodthirsty." Vixen responded. Shauna sighed in the back of the shop, sorting through the sleeping bags.

"I guess that's why Yveltal exists then. We probably created it with our own wars." Shauna said sadly.

"Okay so who is Yveltal?" Vixen asked. I sighed as I pulled my pokedex back out.

"You know, I think I'm going to get a purse, or maybe a belt pouch, it would be annoying to have to constantly grab my backpack to get something out." I muttered as I pulled up Yveltal's entry.

"_Yveltal, the Destruction pokemon. Yveltal flies around on its clawed wings, spreading death and destruction. When it's wings and tail glow a bright red, it fires a beam that absorbs the life from everything it touches. Every one thousand years, Yveltal itself dies, absorbing as much life force as it can before it becomes a cocoon, waiting to be reborn._" The pokedex said.

"I don't think we 'created' Yveltal persay, just like we didn't create Xerneas. Yveltal is the harbinger of death, not the physical manifestation of our hatred. Where there is life, there is also death, and that's older than the human race." I said. Vixen grinned at me as she walked over to the clothing rack to look through it.

"You sound like me when I learned about Yuyu. Everyone else was terrified of him but I just felt bad that he got a bad rep." Vixen said, pulling out a yellow shirt that had a white collar, almost identical to the one I was already wearing.

"Vixy, no, bad girl. Don't buy me clothes, I like what I'm wearing." I teasingly snapped. Vixen grinned as she grabbed a pair of red pants, though they were slacks as opposed to the sweatpants I wore.

"That's why I'm getting you an upgraded form. Aldith, your clothes won't last for long. What if Sabrina sneezes fire on you?" She said, holding the clothes out to me. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.

"That won't happen, she'll be careful." I told her. Vixen turned around and lifted her hair up, and I saw a patch of hair that was short and scraggly.

"Yeah, that's what I thought too. And then Sorrel got that cold. This isn't up for debate." Vixen said, putting her hair back down. I sighed in defeat and grabbed the clothes, turning back to the bags. I found one that really piqued my interest. It was a large black purse with a strap that had a buckle on it that could be undone and shortened, turning the purse into a backpack. That looked pretty functional, I could use the purse form for when I was on the road and needed easy access to my pokedex or spare pokeballs. In more crowded places though, I could secure it on my back and keep pickpockets from stealing anything from me. I grabbed it and made my way to the changing rooms, changing into the clothes that Vixen had gotten for me.

I put my old clothes into my new purse, and upon exiting the dressing room Celeste flew past me and slammed the door behind me, making me blink. I ignored it and continued into the shop to finish my shopping. Making my way over to the camping supplies, I glanced briefly at some tents, but decided against it. If something happened while I was inside a tent, I could end up trapped inside. Sleeping out in the open would give me a chance to either fight back or get away, depending on what was happening. With that settled, I moved onto sleeping bags.

"Want me to get you a cart, Aldith?" Vixen asked. I snapped up and smiled at her, nodding.

"Yeah that'd be great, thanks." I said. She pushed a cart across the store to me, and I caught it gracefully, setting my new purse down and looking at the sleeping bags again.

"Wow! Me next!" Shauna said, making Vixen laugh.

"I dunno, I was just poking fun at Aldith's reflexes. I'll bring you one." Vixen said, walking one across the store to Shauna. I ignored them as I plucked a puffy, black sleeping bag off the rack, setting it in my cart. A big, fluffy blanket appeared in my cart, and I looked up to see Shauna smiling at me.

"Sometimes, on really hot days, it is uncomfortable to sleep on a smooth surface because you get hot enough that it'll stick to you. It's better to sleep on some normal fabric in that case." She suggested, and I smiled at her and nodded.

"Thanks for the tip. I wouldn't have thought of that." I told her gratefully. Shauna beamed and she wandered away to continue looking over the store, and I reached over to grab a foam pad that I could place under my sleeping bag so it didn't get too dirty. I moved onto the cookware, and after looking at the large selection I turned around to find Vixen.

"Hey Vixy, are you covering our food tabs too?" I asked out of curiosity. She popped out of an aisle and seemed to think on it, smiling and nodding.

"Yeah sure, but try to keep it simple. You aren't going to live the same lifestyle that I do at home, that's reserved for rich people who don't get out much." She teased. I grinned at her and began to pick out some cooking stuff, like pots and pans and plates. I stared at a set of hot plates that came in varying sizes, and thought about the way Vixen used Sorrel. If Sabrina would let me use her the same way to light campfires, then I didn't need anything too big. On the other hand, I wanted to be able to brew my mother's coffee, and that would be tough to do over a campfire. I started to reach for one of the hot plates when a coffee brewer caught my eye. That would solve the problem entirely, and I snatched the box and tossed it into my cart.

"So girls, how do I look?" Celeste's voice rang. I turned to see her standing in front of the dressing rooms, wearing a deep purple tank top over a pair of black jeans. By wearing a tank top, Celeste revealed that she had a silver, collar-like necklace that had multiple layers to it. The look gave her a tall appearance, though she wasn't much bigger than me.

"I was wondering when you were going to come out. I like it." I told her. Celeste shot a dirty look at me for my jab, but quickly recovered and turned around to grab her bag, which was a standard-looking purse that was unlike my transforming bag.

"Yeah well there is such a selection here, you know? It was really hard to pick a good look!" She said, wandering over to the electronics section. I sighed in shook my head as I walked over to the electronics myself.

"You are something else, Celeste." I said, looking at a solar-powered charger that had different plug-ins for varying devices.

"Yepyep! Ohhhh you gonna get that? Awesome I can grab a tablet and we'll be able to watch TV and stuff before we go to bed." She said. I narrowed my eyes curiously at her, but she ignored me and put the largest tablet she could find in my cart. I rolled my eyes and put the charger in as well.

"Fine, but we're spending most of our time traveling, not watching TV okay?" I told her. Celeste beamed and went over to the cooking supplies, getting herself a few dishes.

When we finished browsing the Master Prep Shop, we moved back into the main store to stock up on groceries. We stocked up on food, medicine, and some extra pokeballs, and we made our way up to the clerk, who looked terrified and excited at the same time. Lucky for him, since Vixen was paying for everything he didn't have to worry about billing us separately, and he didn't need to waste any shopping bags because he scanned all of our bags first so that we could load our own stuff inside.

Once everything was packed up and paid for, we walked back into the pokemon center to see Romeo sitting in front of the counter, waiting for us patiently. I gave him an appreciative scratch on the head while we got our pokemon back, and we decided to go sit in the lobby to plan our next move.

"So, I guess we just go right to Lumiose?" Celeste asked. I hummed as I leaned back, looking up at the ceiling.

"Actually, I think there's a gym here. Maybe we should go challenge it before we move on." I suggested.

"Oh, yeah that could be fun, but maybe not all at once. I think we'd overwhelm the Gym Leader." Shauna said.

"Well, I don't plan on challenging the gyms here, but I know that Gym Leaders have multiple sets of pokemon that they can use to accommodate all trainers." Vixen said, making Celeste and Shauna tilt their heads at her.

"What do you mean?" Shauna asked. Vixen smiled as she pulled her lanyard off of her neck, Lola's pokeball dangling at the bottom. Lining the black and blue cord of the lanyard were eight shining pendants that clacked together when she moved it.

"See these? These are some of Unova's Gym Badges. Every time you defeat a gym leader, they give you one of these badges, and with every badge you get, the gym leaders become harder to defeat until you have beaten eight of them. Because of this, gym leaders have different pokemon that they use for different difficulties. The pokemon they use against a new trainer with no badges will be much weaker than pokemon they would use against someone who has seven." Vixen said, replacing her lanyard back over her head. Shauna and Celeste made fascinated sounds as they looked over each badge.

"But do you know if they have spares for concurrent trainers of the same level? Like what if three excited beginners suddenly barged in demanding battles?" I asked, making Vixen grin for a moment. That grin faded as she thought my question over, grabbing her chin.

"That's a good question. Um, I don't really know. I think I know who to ask though, hang on." She said, holding her wrist up. She dialed away on her X-Transceiver, and we listened as the phone rang a few times. After the fourth ring, it picked up, and we heard a voice.

"_Aspertia Trainer School, Headmaster Cheren speaking._" He answered. Vixen brightened up as she looked at the screen.

"Hi Cheren! Shoot, I forgot, I'm not interrupting class, am I?" Vixen asked with a blush. I could hear Cheren laugh over the phone, the sound warm and friendly.

"_Don't worry about it Vixen, in fact, this is a perfect opportunity. We were just talking about the Elite Four, do you mind giving my class advice on facing them?_" He asked. Vixen shifted around at suddenly being put on the spot, but she realized she had done this to herself for calling during school hours.

"Well, the best thing is to use the pokemon you trust the most, don't just rely on the type chart. They are all well prepared for facing pokemon that have a type advantage. For example, Marshal's pokemon know many Rock-Type attacks for when they face Flying-Type opponents." Vixen said, trying to keep her voice calm and steady. I leaned forward and grabbed her knee in my hand, giving it a comforting squeeze which seemed to relax Vixen.

"_That is an excellent point, Vixen, thank you. Everyone, I want you to think about what my friend just said and write a one page essay about what pokemon you would use against the league, why you would use them and what attacks they would have. This is due at the end of class. Behave while I am outside, please._" He said, and we heard a door close. Vixen took a deep breath and sighed in relief, looking at Cheren pointedly.

"I guess I deserved that. Sorry." Vixen said. Cheren laughed again as I leaned over to see him leaning against a wall.

"_Nono, I am sorry for putting you on the spot like that. It was just really good timing and I figured that there was no one better to talk about the Elite Four than their apprentice. Even if we weren't discussing that I would have excused myself to talk to you, I know you wouldn't call unless it was important. How is Kalos, by the way?_" He asked, making Vixen brighten up while I sat back in my seat.

"It is absolutely wonderful here. The pokemon are so unique and the landscape is beautiful. In fact, we just trekked through a forest that would put Pinwheel Forest to shame. Anyway, as for why I called, it actually is because Aldith and our friends are trying to plan out the rest of the day here. Mind answering something for us?" She asked.

"_Go ahead._" Cheren replied.

"We were just talking about gym leaders and how they have different teams of pokemon for different levels of challengers. How do they handle getting multiple challengers who are around the same strength? Do they heal up between battles or use different pokemon? Or maybe make extra challengers wait awhile?" Vixen asked, tilting her head at her X-Transceiver.

"_That's a good question, I should remember that one for my class if any of the kids decide to travel with someone. The answer is yes, we do heal our pokemon between battles. We have a healing machine somewhere out of view in our gyms that we use to recover so that we can do multiple battles in a row. Responsible gym leaders will make extra challengers wait until the next day so that they don't overwork their pokemon, but that is only if they had a marathon session of the same level. For example, I start turning away challengers after five consecutive battles with one team, win or lose, just because my pokemon would be exhausted afterwards._" He explained.

"And is that how all gym leaders operate or is that just for Unova?" Vixen asked.

"_Hmm, not sure. It's not really a law here so much as it is common sense that everyone here follows. I'm sure Kalos Gym Leaders have their own system in place for dealing with multiple challengers, even if it's not the 'Unova way', so they can go ahead and go challenge the gym together if they think they are ready._" Cheren said. Vixen smiled and nodded at the screen, humming thoughtfully.

"Alright, thanks Cheren. Do you need anything from me before I let you go?" Vixen asked.

"_No, I think I'll be okay. I should get back to class before they get unruly. Enjoy the rest of your trip, Vixen! If you don't mind, when you get back I would like you to attend one of my classes so you can tell us about Kalos._" Cheren asked. Vixen laughed and nodded at him.

"Alright, I will. I'll be sure to grab an expansion for my pokedex so I can show you guys some of the pokemon I met here. Thanks again, Cheren! I'll see you when I get home." She said. With that, she ended the phone call, and she turned to us cheerfully. Celeste beamed at her and crossed her arms behind her head.

"Well, there's our answer. I guess we can go challenge the gym at any time." She said. Vixen hummed thoughtfully as she fingered her badges.

"Yeah but, if it were me, I'd try to get some training in first, and Shauna might want to think about catching another pokemon. If Kalos gyms are like Unova's, then the first gym battle will have the Gym Leader use two pokemon." Vixen told us.

"What was your first gym battle like?" Shauna asked. Vixen smiled and closed her eyes, leaning back to enjoy the memory.

"It was something else. The guy I just talked to was my first gym leader, and he really let me have it. I had done some training before the match and it was still a challenge, even though Lola had gotten a little bit stronger and Sorrel evolved from Cyndaquil to Quilava." Vixen explained, making Celeste tilt her head.

"Huh? Cyndaquil? That's a Johto starter pokemon, I thought you were from Unova?" She asked, blinking rapidly at her. Vixen chuckled and shook her head, clutching her multi-colored pokeball on her lanyard.

"I am, but Sorrel was not my starter pokemon. My starter was Lola, I found her in the wild after I found out all the starters for the year were taken, and she agreed to come with me on my journey. Sorrel was a gift from someone who became a starter breeder, to reward me for using good judgement in a one-sided battle." She explained. We all smiled at her as Vixen came out of her mild trance, looking around at us. I reached down and pulled my pokeballs off of my belt, holding them up to look at them.

"You know, training doesn't sound like a bad idea. I would like to help Boomer work on Dragon Pulse like I promised, and Sasha taught me that Sabrina has a ways to go on that Ember." I said. I heard a purring meow as Romeo suddenly appeared beside me, leaping up onto the sofa and draping himself over my lap.

"Lieeee." He purred, settling down. I laughed and set my pokeballs beside me, stroking his neck.

"You are not a lap cat, Romeo." I admonished. Romeo did not acknowledge me as his tail swished, and he continued to purr loudly. Everyone chuckled as they watched the scene, and Vixen gave me a sad smile, but said nothing about it. I winked at her and continued to pet the Liepard, and Shauna cleared her throat.

"I kinda want to train too. I'm going to go back to Santalune Forest I think, see more of the pokemon that are actually native to it and maybe catch a new pokemon or two." She said, standing up.

"Alright, we're going to train here, maybe just outside of the entrance to the city so we can be close to the pokemon center. Would you like us to wait for you before we go to the gym?" Celeste asked. Shauna smiled and shook her head, adjusting her bag on her back.

"No, I don't know how long I'm going to be gone. If you guys feel ready to go ahead, don't wait on me. I still wanna try to do this on my own, so if I'm left behind that's fine. If nothing else, we can meet back up in Lumiose at the Professor's lab." She told us. We nodded approvingly at her as she started for the exit.

"Alright Shauna, good luck and be careful. We'll see you later!" I called after her. She raised a hand up in acknowledgement as she left the pokemon center, leaving the three of us in the lobby.

"I like her, I think she's going to have a lot of fun on her journey." Vixen said after awhile.

"Despite your best attempts to scare her, I think you're right, ha." I teased. Vixen blushed and looked away, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

"Right, I keep forgetting that pokemon journeys aren't supposed to be as dangerous as mine was. The fact that she wants to keep going even after hearing about my rocky experience is good though. She's very strong." Vixen mused. Celeste yawned loudly and stretched her arms above her head, standing up abruptly.

"Well, that's enough chit-chat, I wanna get started. We've got hours of daylight left and I want to spend that time beating up Sasha and teaching Angora a damaging electric attack. She's close to learning Thundershock, I just know it. Let's go ladies!" Celeste said, rushing over to the door.

"Celeste! Wait-gah! Wait for us!" I called, pushing Romeo off my lap and standing up to chase after her. Romeo was not pleased about being disturbed, but I heard his and Vixen's soft footfalls behind me as we chased after Celeste, leaving the Pokemon Center and making our way to Route Three.

She was right though, the day was young and it was best spent preparing for our battle.

* * *

TBC

It happened again. I suddenly added a little bit of legend, and everything revolved around the lore. At least it wasn't as bad as the legends in Lola that ended up taking a whole chapter.

This was a really fun chapter to write. I got to put in a little more description to the Master Prep shop than I did in Lola. How funny that the shopping chapter in LDR was almost the same chapter number as the shopping chapter in Lola.

And the best thing happened while I was writing this chapter. I found an actual walkthrough of X and Y that has enough details for me to be able to work with. It doesn't have any lists for wild pokemon, but it has story and gym leaders and important battles, so I can use it as a guideline that is just as good as an actual playthrough. Yay!

So, next chapter we're going to see some onscreen training, likely a battle between Celeste and Aldith. We might see some action from Vixen too, to help everyone train. Are Sabrina and Angora going to evolve? Well, I'm not sure. They might, Aldith is certainly the type to put in a lot of work to doing something. I'll see how the chapter flows before I make a decision. I wasn't expecting to get the Noibat siblings so soon either but then that happened XD.

Onward, to chapter 8!


	9. Chapter 8: Hard Work Brings Satisfaction

*phoom*

Boomer panted as he watched his Dragon Pulse fizzle out once again. We've been at this for a couple of hours and so far, we've made little progress. Celeste was at my back, commanding Angora to use Thundershock over and over, but they made no more progress than we did.

"Come on Boomer, use Dragon Pulse again!" I commanded. My Noibat continued to pant, and created another large sphere. He held it high above his head and then threw it at the tree we had chosen to be our target. This time, the Dragon Pulse made it to the tree, but it fizzled out the moment it touched the bark, barely leaving a mark on it.

"Maa." Angora groaned. I looked back to see her flop onto the ground, her wool rising and falling as she panted in exhaustion.

"Alright Angie, you can rest." Celeste said, walking over to pick her pokemon up. Angora bleated appreciatively as her trainer carried her to where Vixen sat, setting her down on the bench beside the girl. Vixen herself looked rather bored, watching us try to train our pokemon and yet not get anywhere. Romeo had already fallen asleep from the boredom of watching us train and was stretched out on the other end of the bench.

"You know, I think I see what Boomer's problem is. That is an awful big Dragon Pulse for such a tiny dragon. Maybe he needs to condense it." She said. Boomer chattered as he panted, looking over at Vixen. She raised a finger up at him, silently asking him to wait a moment as she plucked Lola's pokeball off her lanyard, tossing it up and letting the Hydreigon out.

"Drei?" She asked. Boomer resumed his chatter and she nodded every so often, turning to Vixen when he stopped. Her eyes glazed over as she listened to her pokemon's thoughts.

"Okay, that's understandable, but you're not responsible for Sasha anymore Boomer, and you need to learn to aim. All that power isn't going to do you any good if it won't hold together long enough to actually do something." Vixen explained. Boomer groaned and hung his head, and I kneeled down and stroked his back softly.

"It's okay Boomer, you'll get the hang of it. Hey Lola, you mind showing him a Dragon Pulse? I don't know how long it's been since that Altaria tried to teach him, so maybe seeing it again will help him focus." I asked. Lola smiled and chirped at me, floating over to us. She carefully picked up Boomer and set him on top of her head, chattering at him as she stretched her right puppet head out. It opened it's mouth and growled as it formed a Dragon Pulse orb, firing it at the tree. It flew over quickly and slammed into one of the upper branches, cutting through the thick limb and causing it to come crashing down.

"Hydreigon." She said, pulling her head back and stretching the left. It growled as well, but rather than an orb, it fired a blast of mist that had purple rings around it, and as it slammed into the tree it sheered off some bark.

"Oh right, Dragon Pulse has two forms." I said, recalling some of Vixen's battles in the pokemon league. Lola tossed her middle head up to throw Boomer into the air, and she chattered something at him. He nodded and flew back to me, hovering in front of me and focusing on the tree.

"Noi!" He cried, opening his mouth wide. He created another Dragon Pulse orb, this time slightly smaller than what he had been trying, and fired it at the tree. It held together better, but it burst upon impact, much like a water balloon. Boomer sighed and shook his head.

"It's alright, try the other one." I told him. Boomer perked up slightly and squeaked as he concentrated. He sucked in a deep breath, and when he exhaled he was able to fire off the breath weapon, but his mist was not contained by purple rings When it hit the tree it dispersed around it, leaving multiple pinprick holes where the Dragon Pulse hit.

"That's not bad Boomer, but I think you need to put more power into the breath weapon." I told him, reaching out to pull him out of the air. Boomer sighed sadly as he snuggled into my chest, and I stroked the fur on his back.

"If it makes you feel any better, Lola didn't get it at first either, Boomer. We had a pokemon researcher who specialized in this kind of thing help us, and Lola had a template to work off of in the form of Dragonbreath, and it still took a couple of hours for her to get it right. The fact that you are trying to do it straight out and can produce a usable attack is incredible." Vixen said, trying to cheer him up. Boomer squeaked appreciatively at her as Lola returned to her trainer, plopping onto the ground in front of her.

"Hey Aldith." Celeste said, making me turn to her.

"What is it?" I asked. She grinned and held up a pokeball, which I suspected had Sasha in it.

"Let's start a cat fight." She said. I burst into laughter and had to let Boomer go so I could grab my sides, shaking my head in disbelief.

"Oh geez, you really want Sasha and Sabrina to go at it? That's not a pokemon battle, that's a pit fight." I said.

"Come oooooon I'm serious! I think Sabrina would love to take a crack at her for that chaos in Santalune Forest, and I need to learn how to use pokemon that aren't Angora again." She said, her eyes becoming sad for a moment. Her eyes glazed over briefly, and she became cheerier again, and I tilted my head at her. Did she maybe hear the voice too? I'd have to ask her about it when Vixen wasn't around, just so that I didn't worry her.

"Alright, I did say I wanted to work on Sabrina's fire attacks." I said, grabbing Sabrina's pokeball. Celeste danced over to one side of the clearing, tossing Sasha's pokeball up and down.

"Ready when you are!" Celeste said. I laughed and shook my head in exasperation, turning to Boomer.

"How about you go sit with Vixen? You can watch us battle, but don't intervene if Sasha gets the upper hand, okay?" I told him. Boomer smiled and squeaked at me, turning around to flutter over to Vixen. She reached out to him and he landed in her arms, allowing her to set him in her lap. She stroked the back of his ears gently, making him sigh in contentment, while I took my place on the makeshift battlefield, holding Sabrina's pokeball.

"Alrighty let's get this match started! Sasha, it's showtime!" Celeste said, throwing her pokeball up. Sasha appeared in a flash of light, squeaking as fiercely as she could, waiting impatiently for her opponent to appear.

"Sabrina, let's put that little runt in her place!" I taunted, calling my fiery little fox in front of me. Sabrina's tail wagged quickly as she got into a battle stance, ready to carry out any command I gave her. Celeste and I pulled out our pokedexes almost in sync and scanned our pokemon, their moves pulling up on a holo-projected screen.

"You're not going to like fighting me, Aldith. I was known as the most Annoying Coordinator in Sinnoh because of how I battled in the secondary rounds! Sasha, use Supersonic!" She commanded. Sasha narrowed her eyes at Sabrina, but rather than carry out the attack Celeste gave her, she dove towards Sabrina with her mouth wide open.

"Sabrina, intercept with Tail Whip!" I commanded. Sabrina charged forward to meet Sasha, and when the Noibat got close she spun around, slamming her fluffy tail into Sasha's face and batting her away. Sasha fell on the ground a little ways away, shaking herself off and glaring at Sabrina before flapping into the air again.

"Sasha, I told you to use Supersonic! Come on, just trust me!" Celeste snapped. Sasha glared at her and turned back to Sabrina, opening her mouth. Rather than the quiet, high-pitch squeal of Supersonic though, she let out a loud, deafening Screech. Sabrina whimpered and pulled her ears down with her paws, trying to drown out the sound.

"Sabrina! If you can hear me, use Ember to shut her up!" I commanded. Sabrina reared up and stuck her tail out to try and keep her balance, cracking her eyes open to glare at Sasha.

"Fennekiiiiiiin!" She screamed, firing off a slew of Embers at Sasha. Sasha stopped screeching and tried to dodge the flames. With the Screech gone, Sabrina was able to focus on her attack. She fired more Embers at her, and one gave Sasha a solid smack on the head. She screamed when she suddenly burst into flames, her body glowing an angry red.

"Alright, Sabrina!" I cheered. My Fennekin beamed and did a little dance on the battlefield, while Sasha chattered angrily at her. Celeste growled in frustration and glared at her burned Noibat.

"Dangit Sasha! Why won't you listen to me?! We really need Supersonic now!" She snapped. Sasha chattered angrily at her as she dove towards Sabrina again, this time into a Tackle, and she successfully knocked my Fennekin off her feet.

"Easy Sabrina! It won't be long now! If Sasha keeps ignoring Celeste we'll win! Use Ember!" I commanded, trying to help Celeste gain control of her pokemon. Sasha snarled angrily at me, but refused to heed my warning as she dove towards Sabrina again. My Fennekin quickly got to her feet and fired off another round of Embers, this time each hitting their target.

"Sasha!" Celeste cried out. Sasha fell onto the ground, but Sabrina refused to let her get back into the air again, and it was all the Noibat could do to try and shield herself with her wings.

"That's it Sabrina! Keep it up!" I cheered. Sabrina narrowed her eyes and put more power into her Ember. With each passing second, the Embers got closer and closer together until they became a steady stream of fire. The flames engulfed Sasha completely, and the Noibat screamed from the pain. Finally, Sabrina ran out of breath to power the attack, and she panted hard as she watched Sasha carefully. The Noibat glared at her with her teeth gritted, and I could just feel the pure hatred she felt for my little fire fox. She burst into flames once more, and when they faded her body stopped glowing. She fell face first into the battlefield, leaving my Fennekin the victor.

"Fennekin!" Sabrina cried, her tail wagging rapidly. She ran around in circles as I knelt down, stretching my arms out to her.

"Good job Sabrina! You won, and you learned Incinerate, I'm so proud!" I told her. Sabrina beamed at me as she rushed over, leaping into my arms and snuggling into my chest. I heard a sigh in front of me and looked up to see Celeste looking down at a defeated Sasha, her hands on her hips.

"What am I going to do with you?" She asked. Sasha refused to move as she glared at me and Sabrina, and I stood up and sighed, hugging Sabrina tight.

"Sorry Celeste, I tried to help." I told her. Celeste closed her eyes and shook her head, bending down to pick up Sasha.

"I appreciate that, but it's not your fault, nor is it your job. Sasha, you have to listen to me if you want to get anywhere, you can't keep being so reckless all the time. Don't you remember what happened in Santalune Forest?" She asked. Sasha growled in annoyance and stayed absolutely still, refusing to look at anything but the ground now. Celeste sighed again and held her pokemon with one arm, using the other to grab her pokeball. Sasha put up no fight and allowed herself to be recalled, and even though I doubted she had the energy to succeed, she didn't try to let herself out. Vixen cleared her throat, and we turned to see her watching us carefully, a rather embarrassed Boomer hiding behind his wings in her lap.

"You know Celeste, I had a similar problem once. When I fought my mother at the pokemon league, I used my Eevee, Summer, to fight her Ghost Types because she had some moves that could do big damage. She listened to me just fine right up until Mom sent her Golurk out." She started, petting Boomer comfortably.

"I remember that, that was actually hilarious." I said, musing over the memory.

"What happened?" Celeste asked. Vixen took a deep breath and laid back, looking up at the sky.

"When Golurk came out onto the field, Summer leapt out of my arms and charged onto the battlefield, and she threw herself onto her back in front of it. It bent down and rubbed her belly with one of its fingers, and they became instant friends. I tried to get her to attack Golurk with Bite, but she didn't want to, and I opted for Shadow Ball instead, which she carried out fine. I tried to get her to use Bite again, and instead she used Iron Tail. At that point I just gave up on Bite altogether and gave her other commands." Vixen explained. Celeste tilted her head and sat down on the battlefield.

"Why didn't she want to use Bite if she was willing to attack Golurk?" Celeste asked. Vixen smirked for a second and chuckled.

"Because she didn't want to seriously hurt Golurk. In fact, Golurk itself had to convince her to actually try to defeat it when she ignored my pleas to do so. We finally got her to take the battle more seriously, but on the condition that I wouldn't try to make her use Bite." She continued. Celeste tilted her head the other way and blinked at her.

"Did you win?" She asked.

"I won the match against Mom, yes, but the battle between Summer and Golurk was a draw. She threw a Shadow Ball at it before its Brick Break connected and they knocked each other out." Vixen said, continuing to pet Boomer, Celeste frowned and looked at her pokeball with Sasha inside.

"So, Summer would have won that round and have been able to continue if she had just listened to you in the first place." Celeste said in annoyance. Vixen shook her head and straightened herself out.

"Maybe, or maybe not. Summer was pretty young back then, she wasn't even a year old yet, so she didn't have a whole lot of stamina. What she did have was the craziest, most adorable personality, and she was so innocent. She didn't quite understand battling back then, and she didn't want to compromise her friendship with Golurk. I recognized that, and respected that. Even if she didn't win, she still battled on her own terms and did her best. That's what my goal as a trainer is, so I was satisfied with the result." Vixen explained.

"Huh?" Celeste asked.

"What Vixen is trying to say is that you need to show Sasha that you respect her and her opinions." I said. Celeste set the pokeball down, crossing her arms and sticking her nose up with a huff.

"But I don't! She's a freaking lunatic and a spoiled brat." Celeste said. Vixen chuckled at her in response.

"Be that as it may, it is still your job as a trainer to help her reach her potential. She may be a lunatic but she is still YOUR lunatic. You need to stop trying to change who she is and show her that right or wrong, you'll stand by her. She'll come around in her own time if you do, right Lola?" She asked, looking at her Hydreigon.

"Dreigon!" Lola chirped happily, stretching her middle head to receive pets.

"Lola here didn't like battling at first either. She didn't want to hurt her opponents and would only battle when someone else needed protecting. When she did, she put too much effort into her attacks and tired herself out quickly, which left her open for retaliation. I didn't force her to change, I just explained what battling really was and how she could be better at it. She made the decision on her own to change her mindset about it." Vixen said.

"Sasha will probably never be cuddly and compliant like Boomer, but if you give her a chance, she might open up to you." I told her. Celeste's eyes softened as she stared at Sasha's pokeball.

"But, she said she only agreed to come with me because it meant she could cause trouble and not get blamed for it. I'm just her scapegoat." Celeste said.

"Noi." Boomer chirped suddenly. We looked up at him and he turned to Lola, chattering something at her. She smiled and nodded at him, and he proceeded to squeak rapidly at her. When he stopped, Vixen's eyes became unfocused as Lola gave her a translation of my pokemon's words. Vixen came out of the trance with a smile, stroking Boomer's ears.

"Boomer says that's not necessarily true. From the moment Sasha hatched she was always proud and defiant. She doesn't want to come off as weak, and so she won't say or do anything that could be considered as such. She has never once said anything close to "I love you" or "Thank you" or anything that would indicate affection to Boomer, but he knows that she does. He also knows that she wouldn't have let you catch her if she really didn't want to, even under the threat of death." Vixen said. Boomer smiled at Celeste and leapt out of Vixen's lap, fluttering over to land in Celeste's instead. The former coordinator allowed a small smile on her face as she cuddled my Noibat appreciatively.

"Thanks, Boomer. I mean it." Celeste told him. Boomer trilled at her as he closed his eyes. He began snoring softly as he fell asleep, and Celeste smiled down at him as she replaced Sasha's pokeball on her belt, standing up carefully while cradling my Noibat.

"I guess working on Dragon Pulse took a lot out of him. Come on back, Boomer. You deserve a good rest." I said, grabbing his pokeball while I held Sabrina. He stirred slightly as the ball pulled him in, and a soft bleat told us that Angora was feeling better.

"Angie, you want to work on Thundershock some more?" Celeste asked. The Mareep nodded and jumped down from the bench, waddling over to Celeste. I looked down at Sabrina and nuzzled her ears.

"Are you up for another battle?" I asked. Sabrina looked up at me and smiled, nodding before she leapt out of my arms. Celeste smiled appreciatively at me as she and Angora took their place back on the battlefield while Sabrina and I took ours.

"Mind if we make the first move?" Celeste yelled.

"Go ahead, I work better with counters anyway." I told her. Celeste nodded while Angora's tail waved slowly.

"Alright then, let's start this off. Angie, use Thunder Wave!" Celeste cried. Electricity crackled along Angora's wool, and with a loud bleat, she sent small sparks in front of her.

"Look out, Sabrina! Dodge it!" I called. Sabrina yipped and danced around the sparks, and I looked up to see Angora's tail bauble flashing. It was slow at first, but the flashing picked up speed as though she were charging something up.

"Now turn it into Thundershock!" Celeste commanded. Angora bleated loudly again as her sparks became brighter, turning into small bolts of electricity. The electric current began to follow Sabrina, and she yelped as she continued to twist and turn away.

"Sabrina, counter it with Incinerate!" I commanded. Sabrina growled as she jumped away from the Thundershock, sucking in a deep breath and exhaling loudly to release the stream of fire. It overtook Thundershock easily and engulfed Angora, but for some reason, the Mareep didn't react. When Sabrina stopped her attack, Angora remained standing as though nothing happened, electricity crackling over her wool.

"Woah, I was aiming for Thundershock, and you pick up Charge. Awesome! That should make it easier to use Thundershock now!" Celeste cried. Angora smiled wryly as she sat down, making me and Sabrina confused.

"Don't tell me you give up, Angora?" I asked. Angora shook her head as she became coated in a white glow, surprising everyone who was watching.

"Oh my gosh yes! Yes yes yes! Flaaffyyyyyyyyyy!" Celeste said excitedly, flailing her wrists around as Angora evolved before our eyes. Her body grew longer and less puffed, her tail growing even longer. Her wool on her head seemed to grow while the wool on her body shrank and retreated to her neck.

When the glow faded, we saw a half-naked, pink sheep sitting in Angora's place. Her tail wagged slowly, showcasing black and pink stripes leading up to a blue bauble, rather than the yellow one from her previous form. She stood up on her hind legs, standing up on a pair of single-toed, white hooves before settling back on her heels. She craned her neck to push two curls of wool out of her eyes, standing upright to grin at me and Sabrina while Celeste continued to shout excitedly about her new pokemon. I reached into my bag and pulled out my pokedex to scan the pink sheep, who looked back and watched Celeste in exasperation.

"_Flaaffy, the Wool pokemon, and the evolved form of Mareep. Flaaffy builds up electricity in its thick wool, but is unaffected by it thanks to rubber-like skin that resulted from building up so much electricity._" It told us.

"Um, we might be in trouble." I told Sabrina as Celeste calmed down slightly. She grinned wickedly at me as she pumped a fist forward.

"Heck yeah you are! Angie, Charge up!" She commanded. Angora grinned as ropes of electricity wrapped around her body, crackling along her skin. Sabrina looked back at me nervously, hoping I had an idea to win against this new opponent.

"Keep calm, Sabrina. Use Ember, we'll whittle her down." I told her. Celeste grinned as Sabrina spat out the small flames at Angora, praying that she would inflict a burn on her.

"That's what you think! Now Angie, let'er rip with Thundershock!" Celeste cried. The ropes of electricity merged together to create an electric wall that blocked out the Ember, and with a fierce cry, Angora threw the attack forward.

"Sabrina, dodge!" I commanded.

"Nope nope nope!" Celeste said. Sabrina tried to run away from the attack, but Angora was much stronger now, and that Thundershock got boosted by her newly-acquired Charge. Even though it shrank as time went on, there was still enough of it to catch the tip of Sabrina's tail. She screamed as Angora shocked her, and when Angora finally cut the attack, Sabrina was left with her fur poofed up, a funny look on her face, and her movements jagged and uncoordinated.

"Sabrina?" I asked. She suddenly fell over and passed out, unable to continue. I sighed and held up her pokeball, recalling her while Celeste dashed onto the field to grab her Flaaffy into a hug.

"Wediditwediditwediditwedidit! Angie you are awesome!" Celeste said. Angora smiled and reached to hug Celeste back, accidentally letting loose a current. Celeste cried out through clenched teeth as her pokemon shocked her, and she fell at a horrified Angora's feet.

"Celeste! Are you okay!?" Vixen and I yelled as we rushed over to her. Celeste twitched on the ground with an excited smile plastered on her face.

"That. Was. AWESOME!" She yelled, jumping up suddenly. Vixen, Angora and I sighed in relief as Celeste continued to celebrate her pokemon's evolution, harping about it to no one in particular as I turned to Angora.

"You gonna be able to control that?" I asked her. She looked up at me and shrugged, bleating an "I don't know" at me as she turned back to her trainer.

"Maybe they have something in the Pokemon Center or the store that can help with that. I'll go see if they sell anything that can help you with the excess electricity when we head back to rest." Vixen said. Angora bleated appreciatively at her as she sat down, suddenly very tired.

"Um, Celeste?" I said, interrupting the girl's celebration.

"Whaaaaaat?" She complained. I rolled my eyes and pointed to her tired Flaaffy.

"I think Angora is exhausted. We should head back to the Pokemon Center and let them rest." I told her. She looked at her pokemon and jumped, scrambling around her belt for Angora's pokeball.

"Oh right! Yeah we should! Angie, come on back, I'll get you back to Nurse Joy. Great job today girl!" She said, holding the capsule up. Angora smiled and nodded as she allowed the red beam to pull her back inside. After rousing Romeo from his sleep, he, Vixen and Lola began making their way back to town.

"Last one there's a rotten pokemon egg!" She said suddenly, bolting off.

"You're on, baby sister!" I called after her, darting past Celeste.

"Hey! Wait a second! Not fair you guys got a head start!" She complained, running after us. Vixen and I laughed as Lola flew overhead, Romeo perched on her back, while we trekked back to town.

And we were all satisfied with the progress we had made today.

* * *

TBC

I decided to replace Howl with Incinerate because I honestly can't think of a way to make that a dignified attack for Sabrina, and the Fennekin line focuses on Special Attack anyway.

So Angie ended up evolving anyway. I feel like it's rushed a bit, but I'm still in the mindset that starter pokemon take forever to evolve. Thanks a lot, Lola, you screwed up my pacing XD. I just need to remember what my normal runs with the traditional starters are like.

Gosh, I missed doing chapters like this. Just, normal filler chapters where we actually WORK towards making progress and not just pulling new attacks or evolutions in the wake of an emergency. Hopefully we can shy away from the "New Powers as the Plot Demands" trope better than we did in Lola, but that depends on Aldith and Celeste not constantly getting into serious danger. In a story about life and death though, that's going to be a real challenge.

I almost gave Sasha Outrage in this chapter. I feel like it's a perfect attack given who she is, but it might have been a little much given what I already piled on here. I decided it was either let Angora evolve, or give Sasha Outrage, and I feel like it might be too soon for that. Perhaps she'll come across it in the Gym Battle.

It's off to Chapter 9!


	10. Chapter 9: Conflicted Hearts

The battle was intense.

The two opponents faced each other, neither side willing to give into the other. The two were surprisingly focused, more than I had ever seen from either of them so far. I guess that patience was really more like stubbornness now that I think about it. They locked eyes and circled each other, making no moves beyond that, waiting for the other to become impatient and make a move. It was a battle of wits now, and whoever outsmarted the other was going to be the victor and they played out this real life game of chess. Suddenly, one of them charged.

"You're mine!"

"Noibat!"

Celeste lunged at Sasha, but the little Noibat deftly dodged out of her way, carrying a hat in her feet. Her trainer recovered quickly though, and whirled around to leap at Sasha again. This time Sasha wasn't able to react so quickly, and she squeaked in alarm when Celeste locked her arms around her.

"Gotcha! You little brat! Give that back!" Celeste said over her pokemon's angry squeaks. Everyone watched in stunned, and amused, silence as Celeste wrestled with Sasha to try and retrieve the had.

"Um, I have more of those in the back, she really doesn't need to go to all this trouble." Nurse Joy said, blinking at the spectacle.

"No trouble at all. Sasha doesn't want the hat she wants the attention. Besides, I THINK they'll tire out eventually." I responded.

"Is that Noibat new?" Asked a trainer standing next to us, he and his Fletchling watching the two with fascination.

"OW! You bit me! I can't believe you bit me! I'll tell Boomer!" Celeste yelped as she pulled her hand back, still clamping tightly onto Sasha with the other.

"Yeah, we caught her and her brother hours ago in Santalune Forest." I told him as Sasha broke free. Celeste grabbed onto the hat and held on tight, and the two were now playing Tug-of-War.

"Noibat!" Sasha squeaked angrily.

"Give it back!" Celeste snarled.

"What were they doing there?" Asked a female trainer who was standing behind her female Meowstic.

"Sasha was a nutcase even when we caught her. We think she and her brother got kicked out of the flock because of how crazy she is." I answered.

"Wow, they are still going at it. They are going to sleep very well tonight." Vixen said. Sasha flapped her wings hard to try and take back the hat, but she was no match for Celeste's determination. The coordinator glared hard at her pokemon, keeping a firm grip on the hat. Suddenly, she grinned at Sasha, and her fingers clenched even tighter.

"Okay, you can have it!" She said, letting go.

"Noi!" Sasha squeaked as she and the hat went flying across the room, smacking into the door of the pokemart. She slid down the glass surface slowly, and upon touching the bottom the door slid open, the bell inside ringing. We all giggled as Sasha moaned from dizziness while Celeste walked over triumphantly, snatching the hat easily from Sasha's loosened grip and then scooping up the Noibat in her other arm. She strutted over to the desk as we parted to make room, and she held her prize out to Nurse Joy.

"I believe this belongs to you." She said proudly. The pokemon doctor smiled and took the hat back, replacing it on her head.

"Thank you, um, would you like me to give her another checkup?" She asked. Celeste set Sasha down on the counter, and Nurse Joy gave her a quick lookover.

"I'm not a doctor but I think she'll be fine, I've seen her take worse before." Celeste said, frowning. She was probably referring to Sasha's spectacular fail against Sabrina earlier, and Nurse Joy hummed and nodded her head.

"Yes, she seems to be just fine. Give her a little while to come out of the daze before you try to battle with her." She told her. Celeste nodded and picked up Sasha, holding her against her chest and turning to us.

"Ready to go? I wanna see what this Gym Leader is all about!" Celeste chirped excitedly. Vixen and I smiled and we nodded at her, making our way out of the Pokemon Center.

"So, do we know where we are going?" Vixen asked. Celeste stopped immediately and turned to us with a sheepish grin.

"Um….I don't suppose you have a map?" Celeste asked. Vixen and I sighed at her in exasperation as we looked around.

"I guess we can just pick a direction and see where that gets us?" I said.

"Hello hello! You guys look lost, need a little help?" Called a voice. We turned around to see a tall, green-eyed woman beaming at us. She had short, cream-colored hair that was styled in loops, and her bangs were parted and curled by the sides of her face. A large camera hung from a purple strap around her neck, bouncing against her chest. She wore a white tank top and a pair of light blue capris with a white drawstring.

"Nope! We're-ow! You bit me again!" Celeste said, glaring at a now-alert Sasha. I rolled my eyes as the newcomer tilted her head in confusion. I reached out to her, and she smiled and took my hand, giving it a firm shake.

"Don't worry about her, what she means is we'd be glad to have a little help. My name is Aldith, this is Vixen and that nutcase with the Noibat is Celeste. We're trying to get to the gym, do you mind telling us where it is?" I asked. The woman beamed and reached into her pocket, pulling her hand back out and held it out to us, showing us a small, beetle-shaped pendent.

"I'll do you one better, I'll show you where it is myself. My name is Viola, I am the Santalune Gym Leader." She beamed. Celeste and Sasha gasped in surprise while my eyes widened, and all of us grinned at her.

"Well that is very nice of you, thanks!" I said. Viola giggled and nodded at us, and she began to walk away with us close behind.

"Man they really do it right here in Kalos. I wish the Gym Leaders back home took me right to their gyms, would have made navigating the city much easier." Vixen said, making me chuckle.

"Oh? Where are you from?" Viola asked as we passed a Roselia-shaped water fountain.

"I live in Unova, I came here with Aldith to help her through a personal crises and now it's just a vacation." Vixen said. Viola chuckled warmly and turned to Vixen.

"Well that's very nice of you, I hope you enjoy your stay here. Are you going to take part in the Pokemon League here?" She asked. Vixen laughed and shook her head.

"No, I already went through the gyms in Unova, and I've got a new goal to work for. Technically, I'm supposed to be training to take over for my dad one day. I haven't been doing much of that over the last couple of days." She said, ending her sentence with a sheepish tone.

"Aww don't worry Vixy, I'm sure Grimsley will forgive you for enjoying yourself. You're his little princess, he can't get or stay mad at you." I teased. Viola stopped and whipped around, looking at Vixen in astonishment.

"Wait wait wait, Grimsley? As in, the Dark-Type user of the Elite Four in Unova? I didn't know he had a daughter!" She said excitedly. Vixen blinked at her and smiled, chuckling sheepishly at her.

"Um, well, I'm not actually related to him. I started out his apprentice and after my mom died, he and Shauntal adopted me so that I could live at the Pokemon League." She explained. Viola grinned and leaned in close, making Vixen nervous.

"Really?! They're married?! What a scoop! My big sister works for the Lumiose Press and she would LOVE to hear about this!" Viola said. Vixen blinked and glanced at me out of the corner of her eye, silently begging me to help. I smiled and reached out to her, grabbing her arm and pulling her behind me, away from the overzealous Gym Leader.

"No, they're not married, I don't think they are even dating. The Unova Elite Four absolutely adore her, and the only reason Shauntal signed the papers and not Caitlin is because Caitlin's past is uglier than hers. Anyway why should a KALOS newspaper care about what happens in UNOVA?" I asked, raising a brow. Viola turned red and straightened herself up, looking away in embarrassment.

"Um, sorry. Alexa says that news has been slow lately and a column about other parts of the world might be refreshing." She said, walking away again. I blinked at her as we resumed following her.

"Why not just do an article on Xerneas? The Tree of Life was found, isn't that a good scoop?" Celeste asked as we came up to the gym. Viola groaned and hung her head and arms.

"Yeah, it would be if we could get anywhere near it. I tried to throw my weight as a Gym Leader around so I could go take pictures, but even Korrina and Grant aren't allowed in even though they are supplying the guards." She complained.

"Can't you ask Malva to pull footage from her site?" Vixen asked, peeking around me. We came up to a large building that had the Pokemon League symbol on it in an obnoxious, light green-yellow color that looked like something gross. Use your imagination to figure out what it looked like. Viola straightened up immediately and whirled around to face us with a big smile.

"Nah, she's a bit of a prick, she'd ask for a bunch of royalties and stuff. Anyway enough of that, welcome to the Santalune Gym!" she said. I smiled as she led us inside, only to see a small studio that had two huge photos on the back wall, one depicting a Butterfree landing on a flower, and the other depicting some leaves with dewdrops on them. In the middle of the room, there was a big hole in the floor, with a long rope reaching from the ceiling into it.

"So, I am assuming everything is down there?" I asked, Celeste groaned as she saw the rope.

"Aww man, do we HAVE to climb the rope?" She complained. Viola chuckled as she walked around the hole to the Butterfree picture.

"Nope! Well, you do, but I don't." She said, rapping the wall next to the picture with her knuckles. The picture suddenly pushed forward and slid to the side, revealing a secret passageway.

"Oooo, that reminds me of that secret compartment in my room that Lola sleeps in." Vixen said. Viola smiled at her, beckoning over to the portrait.

"Since you aren't challenging my gym, you don't have to do the puzzle either, you can wait at the end with me if you want." She offered. Vixen squeaked and hid behind me again.

"Um, no thanks, I like puzzles." She said nervously. Viola nodded understandingly at her and giggled at us.

"Well, good luck you guys! See you at the end!" She said, disappearing into the passageway. As the picture slid back into place, Vixen heaved a sigh of relief and stopped hiding behind me, making her way over to the rope.

"You okay Vixy? She didn't scare you, did she?" I asked. She smiled as Romeo looked down the hole, leaping into it while Vixen grabbed the rope.

"We're seriously going to do this? What if I get rope burn?" Celeste complained. I ignored her as I made my way over to the rope while Vixen leapt up, climbing down the rope.

"Reporters make me nervous because I don't know how to do interviews, and they can trap me with their questions. Plus, I don't like being in the spotlight anyway." She said as she slowly moved out of sight. I reached out and grabbed the rope firmly.

"Hold still and hang on tight, I'm getting on." I told her. When I felt the rope stop moving, I quickly leapt up and clung to it, and I slowly started moving down.

"We're seriously doing it. I can't believe it." Celeste said. I continued to ignore her as I looked down to make sure I didn't bump into Vixen.

"Go ahead now. And I can understand not wanting to give an interview. Some reporters can be slimy, but you know, there is a way to tell the difference between a trap, and someone who is genuinely curious." I told her. She started moving, and slowly but surely, we descended enough to see the gym. To my surprise, there was a giant spiderweb underneath us, with the rope reaching down to the middle. There were plants scattered around the outside of the web, and dew covered the leaves and some of the strands of the web.

"How is that?" Vixen asked, looking around in wonder. I smiled as I looked at a platform on one side of the web with a line reaching out to it. Viola stood on it and seemed to be on the phone, but she did look up at us and waved at us. Beside her, Romeo stared at the web in fascination and swished his tail around.

"The reporters who want the truth for the sake of telling the story will get really, really excited when they think they've hit on something big, just like Viola. No one can really fake that. Not around you. You live with Sarah, Sorrel, Summer and Pepper. You know what real excitement and curiosity is." I told her. We finally reached the bottom, and after stretching her leg out tentatively to it, Vixen jumped onto the center of the web. She stepped back a little to give me room to drop down as well, and the web bounced when I did.

"Oof, this is going to be fun. Hey Celeste! Don't come down yet! There's not enough room for three people!" Vixen said. She smiled appreciatively at me, silently thanking me for my reassurance. I smiled back and patted her head softly, looking around.

"Um, Viola? What do we do?" I asked. She looked up and smiled, still on the phone.

"Can I call you back in an hour or so? I've got some challengers. Yes, yes I am a Gym Leader. Haha yes, I'll be happy to tell you about my matches today as long as you tell me about that Sanctuary. Thanks, yes thank you, yes, goodbye." She said, hanging up her phone. She sighed as though she were exhausted.

"Everything okay?" I asked. She smiled and waved dismissively at me.

"Yes, it's just a never-ending grind when it comes to collecting news. Anyway, this puzzle is a demonstration of the how alike my two professions are. Photography and Pokemon Battling are almost one in the same, there are many angles to look at, there are so many details to what you see, and sometimes there is even chaos that makes it hard to focus. There is always one perfect solution though, whether it is for a winning strategy or for the perfect shot!" She began, gesturing to the web.

"Look through my eyes, challenger. There is only one correct path along the strands of my web to reach me. If you can manage to see things the way I do, you will find it." She finished, smiling. I looked at Vixen and saw she had started to scan the web with her electronic eye. I chuckled and snapped my fingers at her.

"Nuh-uh-uh, Vixy. Don't help us. Call out Lola and go wait with Romeo and Viola." I told her. She smiled as her eye readjusted for normal vision, and she reached up to grip her pokeball tightly.

"Are you sure? I wasn't kidding when I said I liked puzzles." She said. I chuckled as I reached for the rope, grabbing it tightly.

"Then figure it out from the platform, but don't help us. I like a good puzzle myself, Celeste and I will figure this out." I told her. She smiled and plucked her pokeball off, throwing it up and summoning her Hydreigon out.

"Drei?" Lola asked. Vixen patted her side, and after Lola helped her onto her back, the three-headed dragon carried her over to where the Gym Leader waited. Upon dismounting, Vixen sat down on a chair that Viola offered her and petted Romeo when he moved to greet her.

"Good luck Aldith!" Vixen called. I smiled and looked up at the hole in the ceiling.

"Hey Celeste! Can you hear me? Vixen's off now, come on down so we can get started!" I yelled. Her head appeared in the distance, looking down at me. She was too far for me to really make out her expression, but given the complaining earlier, I'm sure it was something along the lines of disgust.

"Do I have to? Can't you send that Hydreigon over to come get me? I could get calluses." She yelled down. I rolled my eyes and sighed in exasperation.

"Either you climb down here, or I will climb back up and push you. Either way, you are getting on this web with me." I yelled back, making Vixen laugh from her spot.

"But but but! Ow! Sasha, stop it! Wait, wait what are you-? OW! Ow ow ow stop! Stop stop stop! Okay okay, I'm on! Happy now?!" Celeste cried out, clinging to the rope while her Noibat fluttered a little ways away. Satisfied with her handiwork, Sasha fluttered down and settled on my head.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but thanks Sasha." I said.

"Bat." She replied with a snort. I kept my grip on the rope as I stared at Celeste's unmoving form, feeling myself grow impatient.

"Seriously? Celeste, get down here. I'll start swinging if you don't get moving." I told her, wiggling the rope a bit to make my point.

"You wouldn't dare!" Celeste snapped.

"Wanna bet?" I replied. Celeste huffed, but she still refused to move. I rolled my eyes again and went to carry out my threat when Sasha left my head, fluttering in front of me. I blinked at her and tilted my head as she got closer, batting at my hands with her wings. I let go of the rope and started backing up as she fluttered over to me, and when I stepped on a strand of web, she stopped. She nodded and squeaked at me, turning around to flutter up to Celeste.

"Oh no. Celeste, you might want to get moving NOW." I warned. She looked up at Sasha above her, smiling wickedly at her.

"Don't look at me like that. I don't like it, Sasha. No, no no no, no. Sasha, no. Sasha-AHHHHHHHHHHH!" Celeste began to scream as Sasha bit at her hands. Loosing her grip, Celeste fell and came flying down, Sasha flying back to me. I knelt and grabbed the strand I stood on as Celeste hit the web, making it bounce violently. She flipped over and reached out for a strand, pulling herself over to it and hugging it for dear life. The web slowed down, and when it stopped bouncing, Celeste turned her head and glared hard at me and her now-cackling Noibat.

"Um, are you okay?" I asked.

"Shut up." She growled, shakily pulling herself into a standing position. I smiled innocently as I stood up as well, reaching out to Sasha, though she pulled away with a huff. I shrugged and turned to a very angry Celeste.

"So, we might as well get going. Let's figure out how to do this." I said, looking at the web to try and figure out how to navigate it.

"We walk on the glowy lines." She grumbled. I blinked and looked up at her, seeing she was staring angrily at the web.

"How do you know?" I asked. Her gaze intensified as she looked around before starting off in a direction.

"I had an Ariados that knew Spider Web, and used it for an appeal that involved us dancing on it. I kept breaking the web when we started, and Spike had to make it thicker so that it would hold us both. This web has some kind of cable inside to make it stronger, which is what makes it glow. Walk on the glow." She said, walking away. I blinked again, marveling at her cleverness, and started after her. It was oddly quiet as we walked on the web, and the longer the silence went on, the more uncomfortable I got. I walked a bit more quickly to catch up to her.

"Are you okay?" I asked, reaching for her shoulder. She wrenched it away from me and sent a chilling glare at me, turning away to continue forward.

"Fine." She muttered. I frowned at her as Sasha flew over to land in her hair, and was shocked when Celeste ducked before the Noibat could. I opened my mouth, wanting to say something, anything, that would make Celeste herself again. I didn't know what exactly I could say though, and I had to be careful not to upset her further.

'_Those who are full of life need to be reminded how wonderful it is every now and again._' I blinked as I took a quick glance around the gym. Would I ever find this voice? I would love to ask it who it was and why it spoke to me, but every time it spoke, I couldn't track it. Perhaps if I focus on wondering who it was, it would tell me the next time it spoke to me.

For now though, I had to figure out how to interpret the advice it gave me. As it said, Celeste was very much full of life, but she was also in a lot of pain. It seemed to be exacerbated by the way Sasha was acting today. Perhaps she needs to see that Sasha has some good inside of her, she just needs a firm, kind hand to nurture that side of her. I think I knew just the pokemon to help her see that.

I reached down and plucked Boomer's Pokeball off my belt, holding it up to let him out. He appeared in front of me with a gentle smile. I smiled back and reached out to hug him.

"Boomer, play with Sasha, Celeste needs to see what you see in her." I breathed, barely able to hear myself. Just as I hoped, Boomer was able to hear me thanks to those fantastic ears of his, and he flew away to join his sister. He squeaked at her before he rushed her, and soon the two were playing an elaborate game of tag. I nodded in approval and looked at Celeste as she continued to lead us along the web. She snuck a glance at the playful pair, and I saw a faint smile appear on her lips. I reached out for her shoulder again and this time she allowed me to grab it and squeeze it tightly.

"I don't know what to do…" She said quietly. I squeezed her shoulder again as we began to approach the platform where Viola, Vixen, and Romeo waited.

"Just believe in yourself and in your pokemon, everything else will work out." I said. Celeste looked at me doubtfully, but said nothing as we stepped onto the platform.

"Welcome girls! Good job figuring out my puzzle, you made it here relatively quickly! So, who is going first?" Viola asked. Celeste turned to me and grinned, much to my relief. I nodded at her and let her in front of me as Viola led us to the battlefield below the platform, under the giant web puzzle.

Show me what you've got, Celeste!

* * *

TBC

Sorry this took longer than the last chapters. If you read "A Mother's Love", then you know I was staying with my mother this weekend (and that by putting that out, I technically didn't miss the deadline XD). I am very easily distracted by Youtube when I'm over there because she has cable internet, which means I can watch all the videos I want without worrying about getting capped.

So, Celeste is going to have her Gym Battle first, and then I am planning on Aldith going after. I need your opinions on something guys, do you want to see every gym battle onscreen, or are you okay with me alternating between the two girls? So like, for example, we'll see both girls battle for the Bug Badge, but when we go for the Cliff Badge, we'll only see either Aldith or Celeste's onscreen, and then when we go for the Rumble Badge we'll see the battle of the girl we didn't see last time. I feel like alternating is the best way to preserve my sanity so that I don't have to write the same battle twice. Double battles are out of the question because there is literally only one gym designed for that, and it's in Hoenn. Plus, it would be a cop-out in my eyes.

But hey, LDR wouldn't even exist if it weren't for you guys in the first place, so I think it's only fair that you get some say in how certain events are executed.

Also, I'm kinda sick right now (hence why I'm at home and not at Mom's anymore), so I don't know how diligently I'll be able to work on the next chapter. I won't try to push too hard, but I'm going to aim for my Sunday deadline at the latest.

By the way, I managed to do some work on the Wiki while I was at Mom's. Vixen and Aldith now have profiles with information, while the LDR Article has been updated. You should check it out when you get the chance! The URL should have Pokemonunderdogseries in it. Feel free to fill in missing parts of the wiki if you would like, I won't get angry at you for it, though I may correct any errors that get put up. ;3

Onto Chapter 10!


	11. Chapter 10: The Bug Badge, Part 1

It was nerve-wracking, really. Sitting here with Vixen, watching Celeste face down her opponent while she waited for the match to begin. Romeo, Boomer and Sasha were sitting behind us, Boomer noticeably irritated. Celeste had told us on the way over that she would not use Sasha in this battle because she just couldn't bring herself to trust her. It was somewhat understandable with Sasha's unruly behavior, but I still didn't like that she was risking the entire battle on just Angora. A tall, slightly pudgy, brown-haired man stood off to the side of the battlefield while Celeste and Viola sized each other up.

"The battle between Gym Leader Viola and the Challenger Celeste is about to get underway! Each may use two pokemon but only the challenger can make substitutions. Begin when ready!" Said the man in a very thick Kalosian accent. I was somewhat relieved by his declaration. As a Flaaffy, maybe Angora wouldn't have such a problem after all against two pokemon.

"Thanks François, Surskit, let's go!" Viola said, calling out a small, blue, spider-like pokemon that had a brown cap on it. Celeste looked visibly relieved at the sight of her opponent as she grabbed her own pokeball.

"This'll be a cinch! Angie, it's showtime!" She said, her Flaaffy appearing in front of her. Angora's tail glowed brightly as electricity surged through her.

"Flaaffy!" She cried.

"Alright Angie, Charge up!" Celeste said. Angora hummed as her skin crackled with electricity.

"That's not going to do you much good here, use Quick Attack!" Viola said. Surskit trilled as it slid across the floor, barreling into Angora. The Flaaffy showed no signs of being affected by Surskit's attack, though she grinned wide when Surskit jerked suddenly, yellow streaks of electricity crackling over its tiny body.

"Haha! Static is the best ability ever! Now use Thundershock!" Celeste cheered. Angora's eyes glowed as the crackling along her body intensified, and she sent a small bolt of electricity towards Surskit. Surskit cried out in pain as Angora electrocuted it, and when she stopped, it collapsed where it stood.

"Surskit is unable to continue, Flaaffy wins!" François said with a wave of his flags. Viola sighed as she recalled her pokemon, smiling at Surskit's pokeball.

"You tried your best, Surskit, thank you. Well, it seems there's a little fire in that Flaaffy of yours. It almost makes me worried about my chances here. Luckily, my last pokemon is one of my favorites, and is very good at tripping people up." Viola said, grabbing another pokeball and tossing it up and down. Celeste grinned at her as Angora braced herself for her next opponent.

"Yeah well I don't typically fight fair either, so hit me with your best shot!" Celeste taunted. Viola laughed and grabbed her camera, snapping a picture before retrieving her pokeball.

"You bet! Let's go, Vivillon!" She said, throwing it up. A large butterfly appeared in front of her, its wings decorated in various shades of pink with some white and blue spots near the base of its wings. It's dark grey body bounced up and down with each beat of its wings as it took in the sight of its opponent with black, faceted eyes. I pulled out my pokedex and held it up to scan it.

"_Vivillon, the Scale pokemon, and the final evolution of Scatterbug. Vivillons wings come in many different colors and patterns depending on where its egg was laid. It is unknown what causes the different patterns to form. The pattern scanned is called Meadow._" It told me. I blinked as I looked up at it.

"Well, it certainly doesn't look very threatening." Vixen said, leaning back and crossing her arms.

"Neither do you, and you're the most terrifying thing in Unova." I replied, making her snort.

"Yes well, there's also the fact that it is a Gym Leader's pokemon. It'll be interesting to see how that works out." She said as François waved his flags.

"Vivillon, Infestation!" Viola said suddenly.

"What?" Celeste asked. Vivillon's wings glowed bright, and it flapped them wildly. A thick, black cloud that seemed to buzz began to rush out, and Angora bleated in alarm. Without waiting for Celeste, she fired off a Thundershock to intercept the attack, just barely managing to hold it off.

"Do it again! Just keep using Infestation, you'll get it!" Viola encouraged. Vivillon nodded and continued to vibrate its wings, and the black cloud rushed towards Angora again.

"Hang in there Angie, use Thundershock, and then Thunderwave!" She cried. Angie did as she was told, intercepting the Infestation again and then shooting out a bolt of electricity towards Vivillon.

"Dodge it!" Viola cried. Vivillon winked out in an instant and appeared in front of Angora, glaring at her and making her surprised. It began to vibrate its wings and at that close range, Angora couldn't counter it fast enough. The Flaaffy cried out in pain as Vivillon's attack engulfed her.

"Angie!" Celeste cried. Vivillon pulled away and went back to float in front of Viola, but the attack continued.

"Gotcha! Infestation is a really nifty Bug-Type attack that will do damage over time, and you are helpless until it wears off, because you won't be able to recall your pokemon while it is in effect, and it makes it really hard for her to move." Viola explained. Celeste gritted her teeth as she watched Angora try to fight through the attack.

"Come on Angie! You can do it! I'm counting on you!" Celeste cried. I heard a small gasp beside me, and looked to see Sasha glowering at the battle. Her ears twitched every now and again, and I was hoping that she would fly over to support Celeste.

"Flaa!" Angora cried, and I turned to see Vivillon firing another Infestation at her. She was almost completely immersed in the spotty cloud now, and every so often I saw her try to shoot some sparks out, but to no avail. Even if it did manage to stretch out to Vivillon, the speedy little butterfly was able to flap away.

"Angie! Hang in there! Please, you're my only hope!" Celeste cried as her Flaaffy sunk to her knees.

"Flaa." She bleated weakly. She pushed her head through the cloud and I saw her gritting her teeth. With a growl, she fired off another Thundershock towards Vivillon, but sadly, it missed once again. Vivillon fired off another Infestation at her, and she turned to Celeste. She panted hard and looked like she was ready to cry as she fell on her front paws.

"No! Angie! You can't!" Celeste cried. Angora's eyes squinted shut as she hit the battlefield, and the Infestation faded away.

"Flaaffy is unable to continue, Vivillon wins." François said. Celeste began to tear up as she sauntered over to her pokemon, getting down on her knees and pulling Angie into her arms.

"I'm sorry Angie, I'm so sorry." She said quietly, hugging her pokemon tightly. Angora was unable to respond, but I had a feeling she took the loss even harder than Celeste did. She looked like she wanted nothing more than to make Celeste happy.

"Hey, it's alright, you still have one pokemon left, don't you?" Viola asked, looking like she felt bad for Celeste. Celeste shook her head as she stood up and picked up her Flaaffy.

"I…I was depending on her for this battle." She said quietly. Viola blinked at her and tilted her head.

"Surely you have at least one though, don't you? I'll even let you borrow one from your friends." She said, looking at us. Celeste shook her head again and sighed, walking over to the benches with her unconscious Flaaffy in her arms.

"No, I sur-" She began.

"NOIBAT!" Sasha screeched, flying off the bench. She zipped past Celeste and rushed to her place on the battlefield.

"What the…" Celeste said, looking incredulously at Sasha. The Noibat looked at her angrily as she flapped her wings furiously.

"Bat bat! Noibat bat!" She snarled.

"Celeste, get back in there! Sasha isn't going to let you quit!" Vixen said. Celeste blinked and looked back and forth from Vixen to Sasha, and I stood up and leapt down to her, pulling Angora out of her arms.

"Come on Celeste, you can do it. Just believe in her like you believed in Angie. Trust. Her." I told her. Celeste stared at me and then looked down at her pokemon in my arms. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. They opened suddenly and she began to grin, wiping her tears away.

"Take care of her, Aldith. There'll be hell to pay if you don't." She said with a wink, running back to her side of the battlefield. I nodded and carried Angora back to the stands, laying her down between me and Vixen so she could rest.

"Bat?" Sasha squeaked questioningly, making me turn my attention back to the battlefield.

"Listen up you little brat, that Vivillon beat Angie up pretty bad. I'm not gonna stand for that, so go kick butt!" Celeste said, pumping her fist into the air. Sasha's eyes glinted mischievously as Viola smiled.

"That's more like it, now let's continue! Vivillon, Infestation!" Cried the gym leader. Vivillon's wings began to beat furiously, the spotty black cloud rushing towards Sasha. The sassy Noibat snorted in disgust at it as she zipped away.

"Good luck trying to catch her with that! Sasha, Supersonic!" Celeste cried. I gritted my teeth and winced as I watched Sasha continue to fly away from the Infestation. It was our training session all over again.

Or so I thought. She wheeled around and hovered in front of Vivillon, opening her mouth and letting out a squeal that was so high-pitched, I could barely hear it. Vivillon grunted in pain and reached up with its stubby arms to block out its ears, but there was no drowning out the sound. It began to wobble around in the air like it was drunk, and Sasha grinned smugly at her.

"Oh no! Vivillon!" Viola cried in alarm.

"Yeah! Alright Sasha! Now Tackle it!" Celeste cried. Sasha back-winged a bit so that she could get a flying start, barreling into Vivillon. The butterfly was knocked out of the air, slamming hard into the ground.

"Vivillon! Harden!" Viola called. Vivillon visibly struggled as it tried to stand. It became coated in a bright sheen, wobbling on its feet as it tried to fend off its confusion.

"Y-you are listening to me? You listened to me! Aldith, Vixen! Sasha listened to me! Sasha, use Leech Life!" Celeste said excitedly. Sasha squeaked as she flew down to Vivillon with her mouth wide open. She bit Vivillon's wings, squeaking in alarm and pulling away suddenly.

"Good! Just keep using Harden until you get your head on straight!" Viola called. Celeste's eyes narrowed as Vivillon shimmered again.

"I don't suppose you have something that can hit at a distance?" Celeste asked. Sasha shot a dirty look at Celeste before diving into a Tackle, knocking Vivillon off its feet again. Vivillon snapped out of the confusion and glared at Sasha, picking itself off the floor and going back into the air.

"Good Vivillon! Now use Infestation!" Viola commanded. Vivillon's wings vibrated again as it summoned an Infestation, chasing Sasha around with the black cloud. Luckily, Sasha wasn't tired, and she was still speedy as ever, but that wouldn't last forever. If Celeste didn't do something fast, Sasha would get caught in Vivillon's match-deciding Infestation attack.

"She's got something on her mind." Vixen said.

"Huh?" I asked, turning to her and blinking. I saw her right eye focus in and out, and following her line of sight, I could see Celeste deep in thought.

"I know that look. That is the 'I might have an idea' look. She's onto something." Vixen said. I hummed as something brushed against me, and I looked down to see Boomer trying to crawl into my lap. After helping him get comfortable, I hugged him against my stomach and watched the battle.

"What's gotten into your sister, little guy? Did you have something to do with this?" I asked.

"Bat." He replied, shaking his head.

"Hey Sasha! I got an idea! Flap your wings as hard as you can!" Celeste cried. Sasha looked at her curiously, but did as she asked and pumped her wings even harder. Celeste reached into her pocket and pulled out a small bag, tossing it onto the battlefield. A cloud of sparkling powder burst out of the bag, and as Sasha flew over to it, her hard wingbeats stirred it up.

"What is that?" Vixen asked as Celeste straightened herself up. She grinned and nodded at the battle.

"Alright Sasha, I think you can use Gust, so give it a try! Blow back that Infestation!" Celeste commanded. Sasha whirled in the air and flapped her wings hard, producing a fierce, visible wind that pushed the Infestation towards Vivillon. The butterfly squeaked as it stopped its attack and flew up to evade its reflected attack.

"Woah! Vivillon hang in there!" Viola cried.

"Go Sasha! Gust again!" Celeste cried.

"Noiiiii!" Sasha screamed, flapping her wings so hard and fast that they were almost a blur. The wind that she produced made its way over to Vivillon and engulfed it. Though it struggled, Vivillon could not escape the blast of air, and it jerked in the air as its wings bent in the wind force. Soon, Sasha got too tired to keep it up, and she glided onto the battlefield and panted hard as Vivillon fell in front of her.

"Sasha! Are you okay?!" Celeste cried.

"Get up, Vivillon! Come on, you can do it!" Viola said, trying to encourage her pokemon. Sasha paid no mind to her trainer as she stared at Vivillon, her wings shaking from her earlier exertion. Vivillon whimpered as it tried to stand up, flopping onto the battlefield every time it got close. After the fifth attempt, Vivillon conceded and stayed down, letting out a rattled exhale as it passed out.

"Vivillon is unable to continue, Noibat wins. The victory goes to the Challenger, Celeste!" François said. Celeste stared at the battlefield in disbelief as Viola recalled her pokemon.

"I…I won?" She asked incredulously.

"Way to go Celeste!" Vixen shouted, leaping up from her seat.

"I knew you could do it! Great teamwork!" I yelled, leaping up with Boomer still in my arms. Celeste grinned as she vibrated in place on the battlefield.

"I WON! Wait, no, WE WON! SASHAAAAAAA!" She screeched, running onto the battlefield. Sasha yelped in alarm as Celeste scooped her up and snuggled her, spinning around while she held onto the stunned Noibat. When she stopped spinning around, Sasha blinked several times, trying to wrap her head around what was happening. Suddenly, she glared, and she opened her mouth wide and bit Celeste's arms, flying away when Celeste yelped and let go.

"Bat." She snapped, hovering laboriously in the air.

"You bit me again! Dangit Sasha!" Celeste said, glaring at her pokemon. I couldn't help but laugh and shake my head in exasperation at the scene. Some things would never change. As the two glared at each other, someone cleared their throat, and we looked at Viola as she strode over to the pair.

"Well, that was a very spectacular battle. For your first match, that was quite intense. You and your pokemon demonstrated excellent teamwork and focus. That's going to carry you far in your journey. As proof of your victory here at the Santalune Gym, I present you with the Bug Badge." She said, holding out the pendant to Celeste. As Celeste reached out to take it, Sasha got there first and snatched out out of Viola's hands, holding it out of Celeste's reach.

"Hey! Dangit Sasha, give that back!" Celeste yelled. Sasha grinned cheekily at her as she threw it at her trainer. Celeste yelped as she caught it, looking it over in her fingers. She smiled at it and closed her hand over it, looking up at Sasha. She smiled at her and nodded, turning her back to her. Sasha flew over and perched herself in Celeste's hair, settling down and opting to take a nap.

Celeste turned back around and bowed at Viola, making her way off the field and to us. She and I locked eyes as she smiled warmly at me, reaching a hand out to me. I held Boomer tightly with one arm while I reached out with the other and grabbed her outstretched hand, allowing her to pull me from my seat. She immediately took my spot and allowed herself to relax, winking at me as I started for the battlefield.

"Your turn."

* * *

TBC

And there we go! Our first gym battle down! We'll go into the second gym battle shortly here, but I want to take the time and just, enjoy the character development of this chapter. I really like how I was able to make Sasha obedient without stripping her of what makes her hilarious. I'll explain in a chapter or so what it was that made her suddenly want to listen to Celeste, though if you read this chapter carefully, I think you'll figure it out. ;3

Not much else to be said, so let's head onto Chapter 11!


	12. Chapter 11: The Bug Badge, Part 2

While I waited for Viola to recover her pokemon, I decided to go over a strategy with Sabrina and Boomer. The two of them sat in front of me patiently while I explained Viola's Vivillon and it's irritating Infestation attack. Surskit didn't worry me so much as that dang Vivillon did, and while I was confident that Boomer would be able to evade it well enough, I wasn't so sure if his Dragon Pulse was up to the challenge. Sabrina's Incinerate and Ember could certainly do the trick in taking Vivillon down, but would she be fast enough to hit it without getting hit?

As Viola came running back out, I smiled and picked Sabrina up, standing up straight while Boomer fluttered into the air. Viola stopped on her side of the battlefield and panted as she held her knees in her hands. I tilted my head curiously at her, opening my mouth to ask if she was okay, but she straightened herself up and cleared her throat, smiling at me.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, are you ready?" She asked. I smiled and nodded, looking at Boomer.

"You're up first, buddy." I told him. Boomer squeaked at me as he fluttered over to the battlefield, waiting for Viola to call out her pokemon. François held his flags up high as Viola drew her pokeball.

"The battle between Gym Leader Viola and the Challenger Aldith is about to get underway! As before, each may use two pokemon, but only Aldith can make substitutions. You may begin when ready!" He boomed. Viola tossed her pokeball up, and as I suspected, Surskit was the first one out again.

"I hope you don't rely on the strategy that Celeste won against, or this will be a quick, boring battle." I told her with a smirk. Viola grinned as Surskit wiggled around, itching to battle.

"You'll just have to wait and see, won't you? Surskit, Bubble!" She commanded. Surskit trilled as its antenna glowed, a small string of bubbles emerging from the tip.

"Dragon Pulse!" I commanded. Boomer squeaked uncertainly, but he carried out my attack and fired off the breath weapon first. Like in the training field, it was not bound by the purple rings that normally accompanied it. That was alright though, for it did exactly what I had hoped and it popped all of the bubbles that tried to reach Boomer, sparing him from Surskit's attack.

"Try a Quick Attack!" Viola called. Surskit trilled again and leaned down, pushing itself forward and leaping up.

"Tackle it!" I cried. Boomer and Surskit collided in mid-air, and Surskit was thrown back from the hit. It whimpered as it struggled to its feet, and Viola watched it carefully.

"Poor thing, use Water Sport." She told it. Surskit nodded as it shot out a stream of water from it's antenna, looking like a lawn sprinkler as it drenched the battlefield. I narrowed my eyes at her and tightened my grip on Sabrina.

"You think you're gonna take down Boomer? We'll see about that, use Leech Life!" I commanded. Boomer squeaked as he swooped down on Surskit, opening his mouth wide and biting down on it. The little bug squealed as it tried to pull out of Boomer's grip, but he kept a solid hold on it. After a couple of seconds, Surskit relaxed, and Boomer let it go to collapse on the battlefield, fluttering back into the air to make his way back to me.

"Surskit is unable to continue, Noibat wins!" François said with a wave of his flags. Viola sighed as she recalled her pokemon, lovingly rubbing her thumb over the pokeball.

"Hey Viola, do you own that Surskit or was it league-issued?" Vixen asked from the sideline, making Viola blink.

"Um, it and the beginner-level Vivillon I'm using are league-issued. I only use my own pokemon for challengers who are after their eighth badge." She said, sounding surprised. I looked to see Vixen grin cheekily for a moment before settling back into a thoughtful look.

"Did you forget I'm an Elite Four Apprentice?" She asked. Viola grinned sheepishly as she grabbed her Vivillon's pokeball.

"Briefly, I guess it would make sense that you know more about my job than the average trainer, huh? Anyway, let's continue, Aldith. Vivillon, let's go!" Viola cried, calling out her pink-clad pokemon. It briefly glared at Boomer, remembering it's intense battle with his sister, before relaxing and awaiting an order from Viola.

"Boomer, use Supersonic!" I called, wanting to get an advantage against it as soon as possible. Sabrina stiffened in my arms as Boomer let out the high-pitched squeal, and Vivillon made a sound that was a cross between annoyed and pained. It reached up and tried to block out the sound, to little success as it began to wobble.

"Oh no, not again. Use Infestation!" Viola cried. Vivillon's wings began to vibrate, and I tightened my grip on Sabrina as the black, spotty cloud emerged from its wings. I had to restrain myself from laughing as the Infestation turned on itself, engulfing Vivillon instead. Celeste had no such restraint as she cawed in laughter on the stands.

"Ha! Revenge for my Flaaffy!" She cried as she laughed harder. Viola blushed as I cast a glare at Celeste.

"Quiet you, be nice." I scolded. She yelped as Vixen elbowed her, and upon seeing Viola's embarrassed look, she grinned sheepishly and dipped her head at the Gym Leader.

"Right, my bad. Sorry Viola!" She called. I rolled my eyes and sighed as I turned back to the battle.

"Let's make this quick, Boomer. Use Dragon Pulse, and go for an orb this time!" I commanded. He nodded and lifted his head up, forming a large sphere of draconic energy in front of his mouth. With a determined squeak, he threw the ball towards Vivillon, only for it to break apart just before it could reach it.

"Bat!" He cried in alarm as Vivillon vibrated its wings again, summoning another Infestation. This time, the Infestation reached out towards Boomer, and he was so stunned by his failed Dragon Pulse he barely registered what was going on, narrowly dodging it. He cried out in alarm as he hit the ground from his narrow escape, wriggling around while giving Vivillon just enough time to snap out of its confusion.

"Now get in close! Use Infestation again!" Viola commanded.

"Boomer! Get back in the air, fast!" I cried. Vivillon flew quickly, approaching Boomer at an alarming rate while he tried to recover from his self-induced stun. He managed to get onto all fours and crawled away quickly, rearing up on his back feet and flapping his wings rapidly just as Vivillon summoned its Infestation. Again, Boomer narrowly dodged the attack as he leapt into the air, the Infestation breaking on the ground where he once stood. With Vivillon in full control again, it was risky to use a close-range attack, which meant we had to rely on Dragon Pulse. Now was as good a time as any to try and perfect it, since I doubted Vivillon would give him a chance to use Supersonic again.

"Keep it up Vivillon! Keep using Infestation!" Viola commanded, much to my annoyance. Didn't Vivillon have any other attacks?

"Boomer, we've got to make Dragon Pulse work! Come on, buddy, I know you can do it!" I told him.

"Fennekin!" Sabrina cried from my arms, likely encouraging him as well. I saw a determined shadow pass over Boomer's eyes as he opened his mouth, a small, purple orb visible from the back of his throat for a brief moment. He fired off a perfect breath-weapon Dragon Pulse as Vivillon launched another Infestation. The two attacks collided for a split-second before Dragon Pulse overtook it, cutting straight through to Vivillon and knocking it out of the air.

"Yeah! Good job, Boomer!" I cried.

"Noibat!"

"Go Boomer!" Celeste and Sasha cried from the sidelines. Boomer grinned as we watched Vivillon fall, but the celebration was short-lived as Vivillon righted itself in the air, flapping its wings and regaining altitude. It growled in an almost adorable way as it flew above Boomer, vibrating its wings and using Infestation once more.

"Intercept it with Dragon Pulse!" I commanded. Boomer opened his mouth and fired off another breath-weapon, but unfortunately it lacked the rings again. The two attacks collided in mid-air again, but in its weakened state, the Dragon Pulse was evenly matched with Vivillon's infestation this time.

"You got it Vivillon! Keep pushing!" Viola encouraged.

"You can do it Boomer! Come on, boy!" I cried. Boomer and Vivillon pushed as hard as they could, the collision line bouncing between the two in a strange rhythm that resembled a game of Hot Potato.

"Fennekin! Fenne fennekin fen!" Sabrina cried suddenly, making Boomer's eyes widen. He slowly began to drop down, maintaining his Dragon Pulse, and when he at down he pushed the attack even harder. I looked down at Sabrina as she looked up at me, looking proud before turning back to watch her teammate. I smiled and nuzzled her softly as I turned back to the battle myself, watching the weakened Dragon Pulse slowly overtake Infestation. Now that he didn't have to worry about staying aloft, Boomer could focus on putting as much power into his attack as possible.

"Good thinking Sabrina." I praised, making her hum in satisfaction. Our faces fell as Vivillon became impatient, breaking away and stopping its Infestation. It flew around as Boomer tried to chase it with Dragon Pulse in a sort of wave-motion, but Vivillon was able to stay well away from it, getting closer and closer to boomer.

"Fen!" Sabrina cried.

"Boomer! Stop! Get out of there!" I commanded, but it was too late, Vivillon was in front of Boomer and knocked him back with a hard Tackle, firing off another Infestation. This time, nothing could save my Noibat as the thick, speckled cloud coated him. He let out a heartbreaking scream as the Infestation overwhelmed him. I saw a flicker of purple from the corner of my eye, and was about to turn to it when the Infestation faded, Boomer laying still on the battlefield. His eyes were squeezed shut as his wings curled up, his little furry chest rising and falling rapidly as François took a close look at him.

"Noibat is unable to continue, Vivillon wins!" He announced. The moment he spoke, Sasha came flying out of the stands and landed next to Boomer, squeaking desperately at him.

"Sasha, it's okay, he-" I began, starting towards the pair. She hissed at me and hovered protectively over her brother, and I could see faint tears poking out of the corners of her eyes.

"Oh dear." Viola said quietly. I took another step towards Sasha, only for her to hiss even fiercer at me.

"Dangit Sasha!" Celeste said, running onto the battlefield. Sasha glared at her, stopping her in her tracks. I felt Sabrina struggle in my arms, and I set her down, tilting my head as she ran over to the Noibat pair. Sasha hissed at her and began to flap her wings wildly, assaulting Sabrina with Gust. My Fennekin weathered the attack quite well, her tail wagging ever so slowly at her. She began a string of trills and chirps, attempting to talk some sense into Sasha. The Noibat stubbornly glared at Sabrina as she glared at her, while her brother groaned beneath her. She looked down at him, her face expressionless, as he crawled over to Sabrina. The little fox wagged her tail as she walked over to him, grabbing his wing in her mouth and hauling him onto her back. She then trotted back over to me, carrying Boomer carefully, and stopped just in front of me.

"You did a good job, Boomer. Sleep well, pal." I said, holding his pokeball out. He gave me an apologetic smile as the ball pulled him in. Satisfied that her brother was safe, Sasha snorted at me and went back to an exasperated Celeste, landing in her hair. Celeste sighed as she dropped her arms.

"I'm never going to understand this thing, am I?" She asked, glowering upwards. Sasha paid no mind as she closed her eyes, pretending to sleep.

"She's just impulsive. She reminds me of a certain someone who has just as much self-restraint." I said wryly. Celeste glared at me and huffed, turning around to rejoin a giggling Vixen on the bench while Sabrina walked on the battlefield, albeit a bit nervously.

"Well, I gotta say, you two are certainly the most interesting challengers I've ever gotten. Um, shall we continue?" Viola asked. I smiled and nodded, itching to finish this battle.

"Yep, I'm ready when you are." I replied. Viola grinned as she turned to a hovering Vivillon.

"Infestation." She told it. Vivillon's wings vibrated for the millionth time and it fired off yet another Infestation, and I briefly wondered just how many uses it could get out of that one attack as Sabrina readied herself to carry out my command.

"Intercept with Incinerate!" I called. Sabrina sucked in a deep breath and unleashed a stream of fire that blocked the Infestation for a moment, but then she lost her footing and slipped on the battlefield, interrupting the attack. She scrambled to get on her feet as the Infestation flew towards her, and she rolled away quickly. Standing back up, Sabrina quickly darted away, sliding a bit on the field while Vivillon chased her with its attack.

"Well now, that Water Sport from earlier is working nicely." Viola said, making me blink.

"Wait, what? Oh! Dang, Sabrina, hang in there!" I cried. Sabrina yipped in acknowledgement as she continued to run on the slick surface. That Water Sport was going to make it really hard for my little fire fox to use her stronger attacks, but hopefully Vivillon was tired enough from fighting Boomer for that to not matter.

"Vivillon, knock her off balance with Tackle and then follow up with Infestation!" Viola commanded. Vivillon dove towards Sabrina, sideswiping her and knocking her to the ground. It then started to vibrate its wings, summoning another Infestation cloud, but luckily, Sabrina was able to intercept it with Incinerate.

"Atta girl! Now get back up!" I called. Sabrina glared at Vivillon as she struggled to her feet, spitting a large Ember at it to distract it so that she didn't have to worry about it retaliating.

"Vivillon, Tackle, then Infestation again!" Viola commanded. As Vivillon dove to execute the maneuver, Sabrina snorted in indignation. Not one to fall for the same trick twice, Sabrina ran, and when Vivillon got close she leapt up. Vivillon began to vibrate its wings, and that was when Sbarina made her move, jumping onto Vivillon's back. Viola cried out in alarm as Vivillon stopped Infestation, bucking around to dislodge my Fennekin.

"Now finish it with Incinerate!" I commanded. Sabrina sucked in a deep breath, pointing her snout towards Vivillon's back. With a fierce cry, Sabrina unleashed a powerful stream of fire that pushed her into the air, engulfing Vivillon completely. Vivillon screeched as the fire seared its body, and after a little adjustments in the air, Sabrina stopped her attack and began to fall. I took a couple of steps forward and held my arms out, catching my pokemon while she panted, looking up at me happily before we both turned to Vivillon crumpled on the ground.

"Vivillon is unable to battle, Fennekin wins. The victory goes to the Challenger, Aldith!" François called. I grinned as Vivillon was recalled, solidifying the referee's judgement. With a shout of excitement, I held Sabrina out in front of me and spun around with her, gushing praise over my clever little fox.

"You did it Sabrina! You were awesome! I don't know what you need me for, you're plenty strong without my help." I told her. Sabrina beamed as she wriggled out of my hands, leaping into my chest. She hummed in delight as she affectionately rubbed her face in my neck, and I chuckled as I hugged her.

"Congratulations, Aldith. For giving me such an exciting battle, you have earned the Bug Badge." Viola said, standing in front of me with her badge gleaming in her open palm. I smiled at her and nodded, shifting Sabrina so I could hold her with one arm, using my freed hand to grab the pendent. We marveled at our prize before I pocketed it, loosening my grip on Sabrina so she could climb up and ride on my shoulder.

"Thanks Viola, Celeste and I learned a lot from you." I said, dipping my head respectfully at her.

"Yes! This was so so so much fun! My bratty Noibat actually listened to me thanks to you!" Celeste screeched, running over and slamming into Viola. The Gym Leader was stunned as Celeste hugged her tightly.

"Um, Celeste?" I said, pocketing my badge and taking a step forward to rescue the poor Gym Leader from my friend's embrace. Sasha beat me to it as she leapt off of Celeste, grabbing the end of her ponytail in her mouth and pulling back.

"Ow ow ow! Dangit Sasha! Stop it!" Celeste cried as she let go of Viola to round on her Noibat. Sasha let go and flapped just out of reach. Viola, François, and I watched awkwardly as Celeste and Sasha got into a heated argument, and I was doubtful that either of them could understand the other's words. Vixen and Romeo strode past the two, ignoring them as they made their way over to us, looking up at me with pride.

"That was really cool, Aldith. Even though his Dragon Pulse leaves a lot to be desired, you still made good use out of it. Even though you've only had her for around a day, you and Sabrina really trust each other and are on the same wavelength." Vixen said, making me and my pokemon smile.

"So, do you two feel better about leaving me alone then?" I asked. Romeo smirked as he reared up, putting his paws on my chest.

"Lie." He purred, making me laugh as I hugged him.

"We're not leaving you alone, so yes, yes we are. We still love you though." Vixen said. I smiled at her as Celeste yelped, and we turned to see her and Sasha almost nose to nose, glaring daggers at each other. Viola looked at us helplessly, unsure of what to do, as I pushed Romeo down and waved dismissively at her.

"Don't worry about it, our problem, not yours. Mind showing us the exit?" I asked. Viola blinked as she gestured to the stairs behind her.

"Just push the frame…" She muttered, watching Celeste and Sasha.

"Thank you. Celeste! We're leaving! You'll get left behind!" I said, grabbing Vixen's hand and walking us to the exit.

"Eep! Wait! Wait for us! Angie, return. Aldith, wait for us!" Celeste yelped, running up behind us with Sasha close behind.

With our first badges earned, Celeste and I were on our way through the league. I didn't feel any closer to figuring out what exactly I believed in, much to my chagrin. Yet I wasn't as bothered by that as I was earlier. Maybe it was Celeste's energy, or Sabrina and Boomer's kind nature, or the mysterious voice that seemed to be guiding me. Whatever it was, I was grateful, and I knew with their help, I'd figure everything out soon enough.

For now, it was important to enjoy just getting there.

* * *

TBC

DI This chapter was a pain to get going, this is why we're gonna alternate. Be strong Kitty, the worst part is over….for now. *shudder* Can you tell I milked that Vivillon battle for all it was worth? I think I'm sick of the word "Infestation" now lmao. Thank Arceus that we will never, ever ever ever, ever ever, see that attack again.

I forgot to give my girls Badge Cases in the shopping chapter, oopsies. We'll fix that next chapter, I have a neat idea for them too.

So we got our first badges, and Boomer's getting a bit better at that Dragon Pulse of his. Poor Noibat, you can't rush these things, it takes time to master your inner dragon.

See you guys in Chapter 12!


	13. Chapter 12: Getting Sidetracked

As we waited for our pokemon to recover, Celeste decided to tell us about that powder she had used in her gym battle. As it turned out, even though she was retired from contests, she still kept her tools because they held sentimental value. The powder was a bag of glitter that she used for a display by her old Beautifly. She took off her purse and began to pull various items out of it for me and Vixen to marvel. Some ribbons, more glitter, some toys, all sorts of things that she told us were used in her appeals.

"So, what happened?" Vixen asked gently. Celeste looked up at her and blinked, tilting her head.

"What do you mean?" She asked. Vixen frowned and shook her head, leaning back in her seat.

"Don't worry about it." She said. Celeste blinked again and looked at me in confusion, as though I knew what Vixen was trying to say. Though I did, I wasn't so sure if I wanted to clarify it for Celeste. She seemed to be pretty sensitive about her past. I figured she would tell us when she was good and ready, and for now it was best to just go on as normal.

'_Pretending something does not exist does not make it so. Pain can't be healed until it is acknowledged._' I took a sharp breath and looked around, and I heard Celeste chuckle. I turned to see her grinning knowingly at me before she turned to Vixen.

"Say, you mind going into the store and grabbing some stuff for me? I have a list of things that I wrote during Aldith's battle, we should be all set if it's filled." She asked, holding a piece of paper out to Vixen. She blinked in confusion at her, but smiled and nodded as she took the paper.

"Alright, I'll be right back then. Come on Romeo, you can help me. Let's see now…." Vixen said as she and her new Liepard walked into the store. When the door closed, Celeste rounded on me and grinned again.

"You hear it too, don't you?" She asked suddenly, making me blink.

"I beg your pardon?" I asked in confusion. She reached out and snatched my hands, holding them tightly.

"The voice. You hear it, don't you? That soft, gentle voice that fills your head with comforting thoughts, almost like a mother's voice." She said. I blinked again as I tried to make sense of her words, looking around to make sure no one was overhearing.

"How did you know? And I wouldn't describe what I hear as motherly, I don't know how to describe it actually." I replied quietly.

"I KNEW IT!" Celeste cawed, throwing her hands up in the air while sporting a triumphant grin. I glanced nervously at the people who started to turn their heads to look at us, and I poked Celeste hard in the stomach to make her recoil.

"Stop it, people are staring. How did you know I was hearing something?" I asked again. After rubbing her stomach from where I poked it, Celeste sighed and crossed her arms.

"Well you kinda, zone out, and then you start looking around for something. Don't worry, I hear it too. At least, I hear something." She said, grabbing her chin in contemplation.

"Well, whatever it is, it wants to help us." I said. Celeste grinned as she nodded in agreement.

"I know. Ever since I came here to Kalos, I've been hearing this voice. I was really, really depressed when I decided to leave contests, but hearing the voice…it makes me feel better." She said, closing her eyes and laying her head back.

"Celeste, you can't keep this in, it'll eat away at you." I told her pointedly. She smiled as she held a hand out, and I took it, allowing her to squeeze mine gently.

"I know, I don't intend to, but I still need to kinda…accept it, I guess? I promise, I'll tell you at some point, but not right now." She said in a tone that told me she'd say no more. I sighed in exasperation, leaning back and closing my eyes. We sat in an awkward, but somehow comfortable silence as we waited for Vixen to return. A loud snoring in front of me told me that Celeste managed to fall asleep.

"Aldith, you awake? You have got to look at this." Vixen said. I opened my eyes and looked at Celeste, blinking stupidly at her. Her arms were hanging over the sides of the chair while her legs lazily stretched out. Her head was hanging over the back of it and her mouth was wide open, which produced the snoring.

"I-I just, how? She's not dead, is she?" I asked. Celeste let out a particularly loud snore in response, and Vixen and Romeo slowly turned to me.

"Um, you might want to rethink traveling with her. I don't know how much sleep you'll be getting with that going on. She could probably scare away an Ursaring with that snoring." Vixen said. I laughed and was about to respond when Nurse Joy called our names. I got up and went over to the counter to pick up mine and Celeste's pokemon, and was surprised to see Shauna handing off her own pokeballs.

"Hi Shauna! How did it go?" I asked, grabbing the trays with the pokeballs inside. Shauna turned to me in surprise and smiled.

"Not too bad! I actually managed to catch a Pansear while I was training Lil' Ches." She told me. I smiled warmly at her as I placed Sabrina and Boomer's pokeballs on my belt.

"Really? How cool, that'll come in handy against Viola. She uses Bug Types." I told her. Shauna's eyes widened briefly as she put her fingers together, looking at me sheepishly.

"Thanks. Um, do you…think you could take me to the gym?" She mumbled. I laughed and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Sure, we'll be happy to as soon as your pokemon are ready." I told her. She smiled at me as I left to return to the group. Vixen and Romeo watched Celeste in fascination as she continued to snore. As if on cue, Sasha burst out of her pokeball and yawned loudly. I gently poked her back, pointing at Celeste when she looked at me. The Noibat grinned mischievously as she understood my request, fluttering over to Celeste. She perched on the back of the chair and crawled as close as she could to Celeste's head, sucking in a deep breath.

"NOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" She screeched, making the entire room groan and clutch their heads in pain. Celeste got the worst of it though, waking up almost immediately and flying out of her chair, throwing Sasha into the air. Sasha cackled as she hovered in place, watching her trainer pant over a coffee table. Celeste's eyes darkened as she whirled on her pokemon.

"Dangit Sasha! Why!? Why!?" She snarled. Sasha grinned cheekily at her as she fluttered over and landed on Celeste's head, scooting herself down and folding her wings. Celeste groaned and hung her head in defeat as Vixen, Romeo and I laughed.

"She certainly has no shame, does she?" I teased. Celeste glared at me as she straightened herself out, crossing her arms.

"Shut up." She mumbled under her breath. I grinned at her as I held out Sasha and Angora's pokeballs. Celeste took them without a word as Vixen dug through some of her shopping bags.

"Anyway, I got all the stuff you wanted, Celeste, plus a couple of extra gifts. You two need a way to carry around your badges, so I got these." She said, setting out a couple of badge cases. One was shaped like a flower that had eight petals, each of them covered in metallic rainbows, while the other looked like a strange horn with metallic black and red ribbons coating it. Upon picking up the case, I saw that there was a long ribbon on it, which could be wrapped around an arm or a wrist. I smiled as I opened it up, retrieving my Bug Badge and placing it inside. With Vixen's help, I was able to strap the case on my upper arm, rotating my shoulders until I felt comfortable with it.

"These are awesome! Thanks so much! So, what now?" Celeste said, strapping on her badge case on her arm with Sasha's reluctant help. She then began to go through the bags that Vixen had brought from the store and started packing them into her purse.

"Well, Shauna just got done training, so when her pokemon are healed she wants us to show her to the gym." I said. As if on cue, Shauna appeared behind me, her pokeballs shining on her belt.

"I hope you guys don't mind…" She mumbled. Celeste smiled as she ran over to the girl, hugging her tightly. Sasha began to adjust herself on Celeste's head, which prompted her to let go of Shauna. The Noibat had a smug look on her face as Celeste apologized to Shauna, and Vixen and I burst out laughing.

"She's got you trained!" I teased. Celeste gave me a dirty look and crossed her arms again. I grinned at her and started for the door, the three girls following close behind.

The sun began to set, painting the walkways in a brilliant red-orange hue. The water coming from the Roselia fountain looked a little like fine wine as we passed by it, and people had begun to turn on the lights in their businesses and houses. By the time we reached the Gym, the streetlights started to turn on as well, and Shauna moaned in a worried tone.

"It's getting late, maybe we should head back and I can try tomorrow?" She suggested nervously. I smiled and patted her on the back, gently pushing her forward.

"It's not that late, and Viola is really nice." I told her.

"Yeah! She-OW! Sasha!" Celeste started, yelping when her pokemon pulled on her hair. I looked at Sasha to see her ears twitching, and I tilted my head.

"Shh, I think she hears something." I whispered. Celeste blinked and looked up.

"What's the matter, Sasha?" She asked quietly.

"Uh, guys? I see something running towards the city." Vixen said, looking down the path by the gym. I blinked as I tried to see what Vixen had locked onto, but I couldn't see it.

"How far is it, Vixy? Do we need to go get Viola?" I asked. Vixen frowned as she watched whatever it was Sasha was listening to.

"I'm not…wait….is it holding something? Oh no! Something knocked it down!" Vixen said, clutching a fist. Celeste cried out as Sasha went tearing off over her head, flying towards the commotion.

"Let's follow her!" I said, running off after her.

"Right behind you!"

"Coming!"

"Hurry Sasha!" Cried Vixen, Shauna, and Celeste, their footsteps becoming silent as we hit the dirt. Romeo darted past me as Sasha got farther away, only to abruptly stop as Romeo dove into the grass. Soon, we heard vicious sounds of feral cats where Romeo had gone, and when we finally managed to catch up, we saw a horrific sight.

Blood and patches of tan fur spattered the ground, more fur, blood, and dust flying up as I watched Romeo viciously attack a trio of brown pokemon. Behind the ball of teeth and fangs, there were two pokemon, a large, lion-like pokemon with a glowing mane that stretched along its body, and a much smaller one behind it with a small, glowing tuft of red fur on its head. The smaller pokemon looked ready to cry as it cowered behind the larger pokemon, who was laying on its side and covered in scratches and bruises.

"That's a Pyroar and Litleo, aren't they?" Shauna asked fearfully. I narrowed my eyes as I started to understand what was going on.

"Shit, I think this is a pride takeover. Romeo! keep them busy! Remember your training!" I called to him, running around the fray.

"What are you going to do?" Vixen asked, but I ignored her as I made my way to the female Pyroar and its cub. The Litleo whimpered and hid in the grass as its mother tried to stand, growling at me.

"Easy girl, I want to help. I know how this works, and I don't like it any more than you do." I told her. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at me, but a shriek from the fray caught her attention. We turned to see that Vixen had called out her Zoroark to help even the odds, and the fight got even more vicious. The injured Pyroar gritted her teeth and turned to her frightened cub, looking back at me with stern eyes.

"Roar?" She asked. I smiled as I reached into my purse, pulling out a potion. I cracked the neck of the bottle and began to spray her wounds, making her grunt in pain. She allowed me to treat her though as her wounds started to fade. When I emptied the medicine, I reached back into my bag and rummaged through it. I pulled out my old shirt and laid it in front of her.

"Make that as dirty as you can, I've got an idea." I told her. She pulled the shirt close and began to rub it on the dusty ground as I pulled a steak out of the food pocket of my bag. I snatched my shirt away from Pyroar and wrapped it around the steak tightly. I pulled the ends up and stretched it as much as I could, throwing the bundle down in front of Pyroar.

"Okay, take that and run, my friends and I will keep your cub safe. When you've gotten far enough away, drop that and let them try and maul it, then come back here. Do you know where the Pokemon Center is in Santalune City?" I asked her. She blinked at me and nodded, pulling her cub close.

"Okay, you can come find us there and get your cub back when it's safe. Hurry, I don't know how much longer Zachary and Romeo can keep this up." I told her. She smiled at me and purred, looking down at her cub. The Litleo sniffled as its mother licked its cheek, whispering lovingly into its ear, likely promising to come back. She stood up and pushed her cub over to me. I reached down and picked it up gently, lifting my shirt up and over it, holding it close against my stomach. I shushed Litleo comfortingly as it whimpered, and watched as its mother picked up the bundle I made for her. I retreated into the grass with the Pyroar's cub as she shook herself, snarling at the fight. She then took off at a sprint, and the male Pyroar that had been fighting with our pokemon suddenly broke away and chased after her, with Zachary and Romeo, though battered, attempting to pursue.

"Let them go, guys!" I called. The Zoroark and Liepard stopped and looked at me curiously as I emerged from the grass, walking towards the group with a haunch.

"Aldith! Are you okay!?" Vixen cried, running over to me. I smiled and nodded as I reached up and pulled at my collar, looking down my shirt at the frightened Litleo, who had buried its face into my stomach.

"Hey little one, it's okay, they're gone now." I told it. Litleo looked up at me and sniffled, burying its face into my stomach again. I frowned and started to lift my shirt to pull it out, but Litleo whimpered and curled up more against me.

"Poor thing, Aldith I think you're going to have to sport the pregnant look for awhile." Vixen said, petting Litleo through my shirt. I sighed as I nodded at her in agreement, turning to Romeo and Zachary.

"You two okay?" I asked, looking over the pokemon. I winced as I observed their deep gashes where the Pyroar had bit and scratched them. The two of them grinned as they walked stiffly over to us, trying to assure us that they were fine. I smiled gratefully at them as Vixen recalled Zachary, summoning Lola in his place. Lola warbled at Romeo, and when he meowed defiantly at her she growled. With a snort, Romeo walked over to her and carefully climbed up onto her back, laying down and beginning the process of licking his wounds.

"We should hurry back to the Pokemon Center, that fight was nasty." Vixen said. I nodded at her and began walking back to Santalune City.

"Go on ahead, Vixen. Go on Lola, don't wait for us. If I run, Litleo will get shaken up." I told her. She nodded and leapt onto her dragon. She reached for her belt and pulled a pokeball off, throwing it to Celeste.

"Okay, but keep Sorrel with you. If those things come back, he can hold them off. Lola, let's go!" She said. Lola chirped in confirmation as she took off, leaving me, Celeste and Shauna to stare after her.

"So um, either of you mind explaining what just happened?" Celeste asked as Sasha landed back on her head. I sighed as I started walking again, petting Litleo through my shirt to try and comfort it.

"Pull out your pokedex and look up Pyroar, it'll tell you the gist of it I bet." I said. Celeste made a curious sound as she dug through her purse to carry out my request, holding up her pokedex.

"_Pyroar, the Royal Pokemon, and the evolution of Litleo. In the wild, Pyroar live in prides that consist of a few males and many females. The Male Pyroar are usually the ones who lead the pride, with the one with the largest mane being the leader. Female Pyroar are the ones who raise cubs and feed the pride, and will help the males protect it from intruders._" The pokedex said. Celeste blinked as she pressed some options on it.

"_Extra information on Pyroar selected. If a foreign Pyroar has a mane that is similar in size to the pride leader, the two will fight for the pride. If the challenger wins, he will not only run the old leader out, but may also try to destroy his legacy by eliminating the old male's cubs. This usually isn't possible due to the fierceness of his new females, but if the new leader has siblings, they will coordinate to distract the resident females and eliminate their cubs_." It continued, making Celeste gasp.

"That's horrible! So, wait. Wait wait wait. Did we just save that Litleo from being killed?!" She asked incredulously.

"Yep, and I gave its mom a decoy to lure them away. We'll be seeing her at the Pokemon Center to reclaim her cub when it's safe." I told her.

"I hope she'll be okay…" Shauna said quietly, reaching out to pet Litleo through my shirt. I sighed as we made it back into town, beginning a slow trek to the Pokemon Center.

"Me too. She was pretty beaten up, and I don't know how much that dinky little potion I used on her helped. We just have to have faith, and keep her cub safe until she returns." I replied.

The rest of the walk to the Pokemon Center was relatively quiet. The only time anyone said anything was when we tried to comfort Litleo, but the poor little cub was traumatized by the recent events. When we finally reached the Pokemon Center, Vixen was waiting in the Lobby for us, and when Celeste told her what this was all about, she tried to help Litleo as well. None of us were able to get through to it though, and it didn't even stir when we brought out the rest of our pokemon for dinner, except for Yuyu, of course.

With Sabrina's help, we managed to coax Litleo out at least enough for it to stick it's head out from the top of my shirt. I rocked it gently as Boomer brought small scraps of food over to it, and when Litleo was full it dipped back into my shirt, curling up against my stomach. I began to hum a lullaby as I rocked it back and forth, and soon Litleo was asleep.

"So, what now?" Shauna asked. We sat around in the chairs as people came and went, and I kept watching the door for any sign of Pyroar.

"Maybe I should sleep out here with Litleo in case she comes? The last thing you want to do is keep a mother waiting for her child." I suggested.

"Perhaps, but what if one of the other Pyroar figures out where Litleo is? What if it comes in here and tries to attack?" Celeste asked worriedly.

"That's a good point, by the time the other trainers or security can intervene, it could be too late if you slept here by the door. The deeper we are, the safer it'll be for Litleo, and we have to think about its well-being before we think about whether or not the mother will be happy." Vixen said. Shauna got up suddenly and walked around her chair.

"I'll go tell Nurse Joy and ask if she can wake us up when Pyroar comes looking for her baby." Shauna said, making her way to the counter. I smiled after her as I stood up, cradling Litleo against my stomach while it slept.

"Well, we might as well go ahead and go to the rooms then. Hopefully, it won't take long." I said, walking towards the hallway with Boomer and Sabrina following close behind. Vixen and Celeste recalled their pokemon and followed as well, Vixen stopping at the counter to check on her injured pokemon.

Shauna caught up to us soon after and led us to our room, a simple set up that had a bathroom, a dresser, and two bunk-beds on either side of a large window. On the wall by the door, there was a flat screen TV mounted so that we could see it from the bunk beds, and I immediately sat down on the bottom bunk of the beds on the right. Not long after, Vixen and Romeo came back into the room, my former Liepard patched up with some bandages, and they took up the bottom bunk on the other side.

It was the most agonizing wait I had ever experienced, even more than when I was dreading coming home. With each passing hour, I grew more and more worried about Pyroar, but I didn't want to give up hope that she would be okay. Even as we started to get ready to go to sleep, I couldn't help but worry about Pyroar. I decided not to change into my pajamas, since doing that would entail taking off my shirt and disrupting Litleo's comfort zone. I laid awkwardly in the bed, curled up around Litleo while Sabrina settled down beside my head and Boomer hanging upside down on the underside of the top bunk. I rubbed Litleo gently as everyone said goodnight to each other, and I found myself starting to fall asleep.

"It'll be okay, Litleo." I said quietly to it. Litleo suddenly woke up and mewled as it crawled up my shirt, poking its head out to look at me with big eyes. I smiled at it and gently rubbed its ears, making it purr. It disappeared back into my shirt and settled down against my stomach again, and we both drifted off to an uneasy sleep, making a silent agreement with each other.

Tomorrow, we would look for Pyroar.

* * *

TBC

So, Shauna's back, and she's ready to take on Viola. But she's going to have to wait until this Pyroar thing is over first. Maybe one of them will end up catching Pyroar and her cub to protect them from their old pride?

So this chapter was tough to get going, but once I did, it flowed really well. I was ALMOST going to blow through Celeste's backstory in this chapter, but I decided that it's only chapter 12, it's too soon. God, that's not going to be a thing with me is it? Constantly debating over whether or not doing something is going to be too soon? Oh the agony.

Good news, I'm actually rarin to go on the next chapter, so hopefully it won't be too long before you see it. Remember, updates are Sunday at the latest ;).

See you in 13!


	14. Chapter 13: Cat Fight!

I was up early the next morning. Old habits die hard I guess, but I'm not so sure that Team Plasma was the reason behind me waking up at a quarter to seven. As I laid in my bed, holding Litleo on my stomach and staring at the bed above me, I felt a different sort of anxiety wash over me.

Something was wrong. I just knew it.

I carefully sat up, cradling Litleo against my stomach, and yawned. I rotated my shoulders and shook my head violently to try and wake up faster, and I heard Vixen stir in the other bed.

"Can't sleep?" She asked tiredly. I sighed as I looked down at the lump in my shirt.

"I'm worried, Vixen. I want to go out and look for her." I told her. Vixen hummed, and I saw her sit up and stretch her arms over her head.

"Give me a minute and I'll come with you. We should wake the others so that they can wait for her." Vixen said. I smiled and nodded, reaching up to stroke Boomer and wake him up.

"Thanks, Vixy. I'll feel better once I get Litleo back to her." I said appreciatively.

Once we got everyone else up, though Celeste complained about it at first, we decided we were going to split up. Vixen, Celeste, and I would go back to where the fight happened and start looking for Pyroar from there, and Shauna would stay here at the Pokemon Center with Romeo and wait for Pyroar here. With any luck, one of us was bound to find her, and the more of us out there, the better the chances of us finding her.

As we made our way to where we last saw Pyroar, Boomer had perched on my head in the same way Sasha clung to Celeste, and he kept squeaking at Litleo in my shirt. Trotting at my side, Sabrina added chatters of her own at the little pokemon I carried, and between the two of them, they got the Litleo to poke out of the top of my shirt. Sabrina chirped to get its attention, and when Litleo gave her its full attention she started making funny faces, which I myself found hard not to giggle at. Once we got to the field, we tried to figure out where to start first.

"So, I guess we just split up and start looking?" I asked, wrapping my arms around Litleo tightly. Vixen hummed and closed her eyes running a hand over her belt.

"Yeah, but Yuyu and I want to try something. Let's go, Yuyu!" Vixen said, grabbing her Master Ball and throwing it up. Yuyu appeared in a flash of light and ice, his feet freezing the grass the moment he stepped on it. With a growl, he threw his tail into the ground just a little ways away from us and reared up, letting loose a huge, baritone roar.

"SSSSSSSSRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

The cry echoed all around us, startling many pokemon from their nests in the bushes and trees. After a series of raspy caws, he relaxed and lifted his tail off the ground, craning his neck to look at us.

'_Alright, I have every wild pokemon in the area looking for this Pyroar. Vixen and I shall remain here and wait to see what they turn up._' He said, rumbling as he sat down. Vixen grabbed two more pokeballs off her belt and threw them up, sending out Sorrel and Sarah, before grabbing Lola's off her neck, calling her out as well.

"The rest of you go out and look as well, we need to find this Pyroar fast. Aldith, Celeste, I suggest you pick a chaperone to take on your search in case there's trouble." Vixen said, her tone indicating we weren't allowed to argue. I chuckled as I adjusted my grip on Litleo.

"You're sounding more and more like an Elite Four member all the time. May I take Lola?" I asked, turning to her Hydreigon. The three-headed dragon smiled and nodded, fluttering over to me. Sabrina wagged her tail as she ran over to the dragon, leaping up and bouncing off one of Lola's puppet heads to sit on her back.

"Well then I want the giant, cuddly, fire badger! Sorrel is your name, right? I like your hat!" Celeste said excitedly, dancing up to Sorrel. He grinned as he tipped his hat at her, chattering excitedly. Vixen chuckled as she walked over to Yuyu, stepping on one of his small forearms and allowing him to help her up. She settled between his wings and began to play around with her X-Transceiver.

"They're both excited to go with you, so go on ahead. Sarah, I guess that leaves you to search the skies. Meet back here in an hour at the latest." She said, turning on his back to lounge on the wings.

'_I shall let you know if we hear anything_.' Yuyu said, closing his eyes. With a nod to the pair, Celeste and I turned in the direction we saw Litleo's mom run yesterday and started in that direction, the pokemon following close behind while Sarah took off in a random direction. We followed the trail of bent grass up to a path that forked, and without a better idea, decided to split up.

"Be careful you guys." I told Celeste as she and Sorrel started down the path on the left.

"Yep yep! Hey! Sorrel can I ride you? You look like you can go super fast! Oh oh oh! How about a race between you and Sasha!" Celeste chirped, leaping onto Sorrel's back.

"Phlosion!" He cried, taking off down the path while Sasha flew off Celeste's head and flapped alongside them. I watched the trio in disbelief, and the pokemon with me stared after them.

"Lit?" Litleo asked curiously. Lola turned to Litleo and grinned sheepishly. With a sigh I began to go down the path on the right.

"Don't worry about it, those three are a bit, um, spirited. So, do you think you can track your mother?" I asked the fiery cat. It blinked and tried to sniff around for its mother, its ears drooping as it let out a small whine.

"Aww it's alright, that's why we're here. So, where to start?" I said, turning my head.

"Fennekin!" Sabrina yipped. I turned around to see her standing on top of Lola's head, her front paws on Lola's nose as she looked past me into some tall grass. Boomer carefully flew off my head and hovered in front of me, his ears twitching. Litleo tilted its head as it tried to listen as well, and suddenly it got excited, wriggling around in my shirt and scratching my chest and stomach.

"Ow! ow ow ow! Hang on Litleo ow!" I said, struggling to push its head down. Litleo started to mewl pitifully as it struggled to get out of my shirt. Lola was at my side and grabbed the ends of my shirt in her puppet heads, pulling it off of me and freeing Litleo. Litleo then took off in the direction Sabrina and Boomer had pointed to, leaving me and Lola to blink after her.

"Well, okay then." I said, looking down at myself. I had a lot of scratches on the front of my chest and the top part of my stomach, and a couple of gashes at the top of my breasts, but nothing too deep, I could probably get these healed at the Pokemon Center later.

"Drei?" Lola asked, tilting her middle head as she held my shirt. I looked up at her and smiled, and I felt a blush creep onto my face as I realized I was half-naked in the middle of the wild.

"I'm fine, but um, can I have my shirt back?" I asked her. Lola smiled as she held it out to me, and I turned it over in my hands to make sure it wasn't ripped in any way.

"Wow, the tailors for the Master Prep Shop really know their stuff, I hope it doesn't stain." I said, reaching into my purse which had fallen on the ground during the struggle. I pulled out a tissue from it and dabbed at the scratches Litleo left to make sure none of my blood got on the shirt.

"LEO!" Cried the Litleo. I gasped as I ran in the direction Litleo had bolted in, struggling to put my shirt on. When I finally caught up, I saw two male Pyroar on either side of Litleo. Litleo itself looked like it was in a lot of pain, and I think I saw the reason why when I saw its crooked tail. The two Pyroar growled as they stepped closer to Litleo, stopping when it let out a deep roar that shook up the grass. Shaking themselves of the shock, the Pyroar growled more and started to advance on Litleo.

"Lola, Boomer, use Dragon Pulse!" I commanded. The dragons snarled as they fired off the breath weapon, with Boomer once again executing his perfectly, the four attacks slamming on either side of Litleo to push the Pyroar away. I didn't have time to dwell on it though as Sabrina dashed in front of me, tackling Litleo further back. She stood between it and the Pyroar and growled, her tail puffed up while the tufts in her ears glowed brightly. Both Pyroar recovered quickly from the assault and glared at us. One of the Pyroar reared up and roared, the sound reverberating around us. I realized that they were trying to call for help, and depending on how big the family of the new guy was, that could mean big trouble. I turned to Lola and Boomer as the Pyroar charged.

"Go get Vixen and Celeste! Hurry! We'll hold them off!" I commanded, rushing into the fight. I don't know if they obeyed me as I tackled one of the Pyroar, my instincts taking over. I began to punch and kick at Pyroar, trying to aim for vulnerable spots, while Sabrina and Litleo tag-teamed the other Pyroar behind me, and had to grit my teeth as my opponent bit into me with Fire Fang. Focusing on my training, I mindlessly continued my assault against Pyroar, barely noticing when he left me.

I had no time to figure out where he went as I turned my attention to the other Pyroar, my eyes widening in horror upon seeing Sabrina in his mouth. His teeth were clamped tightly around her body between her arms and legs, and she screamed in pain as she struggled to get free while he bit harder and harder, trying to crush her.

"Let her go, you monster!" I screamed, pushing myself onto my feet. Pyroar glared at me as he swiped at my legs, trying to knock me down. I used the momentum to land on my palm, spinning out to deliver a roundhouse kick to his neck. He gasped in pain, allowing Sabrina to drop down from his mouth. Litleo rushed in and grabbed Sabrina by her tail, dragging her away as I leapt from all fours to tackle Pyroar. I managed to flip him onto his back, laying my body in between his limbs so that he couldn't reach me. I rested my head against his neck as he caught his breath, struggling against me.

"Knock it off, my mouth is right by your jugular, you tried to kill my pokemon, so don't think I won't do it." I told him, allowing my anger to seep into my voice. Pyroar stopped struggling immediately as I rolled my eyes to find Sabrina and Litleo. Though she was panting hard, Sabrina managed to pull herself onto her feet with Litleo's help. Many growls reverberated around us, and Pyroar began to chuckle as more of them stalked out of the grass.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me." I groaned. A female Pyroar, though obviously not Litleo's mom, growled as she ran over to us, leaping up and opening her mouth wide. She was intercepted in midair by Sabrina and Litleo, who leapt over us in a Tackle and Headbutt, respectively, to knock her away. I opened my mouth and laid my teeth against Pyroar's neck, biting just hard enough for him to not get any ideas about struggling, and watched helplessly as Sabrina and Litleo stood protectively in front of us. I couldn't even give them commands because I had to focus on making Pyroar think he was in danger, and had to place all my hope that Sabrina's cleverness would keep us alive until backup arrived.

Luck was on our side, for much to my shock, Sabrina became engulfed in a bright light. Her arms and legs grew as she got longer, her tail twisting around. The tufts in her ears extended into long strands, becoming finer and more rounded. She reared up, showing that the fur on her hips billowed out slightly, and a long, thin object extended from the base of her tail. When the glow faded, my new Braixen growled, reaching back to pull the stick that had appeared on her tail. She pulled it out, a large ball of fire sitting on the tip, and held it in front of her threateningly.

"Braixen!" She snapped, daring the Pyroar to attack. Another male obliged her as he charged, but with the wave of her new wand, a beam of rainbow light flew out of the fire and slammed into him, throwing him back. She chirped something at Litleo, stepping over it and trying to push it back behind her so that she could protect us. Litleo wouldn't have any of it though, bounding out from behind her and standing side by side with her, its tail lashing. Suddenly, two massive streams of fire blasted through, scorching the brush and slamming into two of the enemy Pyroar.

"We're coming, Aldith! Hang on!" Celeste's voice cried as Sorrel and Litleo's mother leapt over the crowd, with Celeste clinging onto Sorrel's back tightly, holding his hat on her head tightly. The two of them landed in front of Sabrina and Litleo, their fur standing on end, while Boomer and Sasha hovered above them. Litleo cried out in joy as it ran up to it's mother, rubbing up against her back legs, while Sabrina relaxed, turning to me with a smile. She walked over and waved her wand over Pyroar, making sure he could see it as she pointed it at him, using her other paw to beckon me towards her. I sighed in relief as I let go of Pyroar, rolling off him and standing up. I started spitting the bits of fur and debris out of my mouth, glowering at him.

"You should spend less time picking fights with children and more time grooming yourself. I better not have any parasites from pinning you down." I snapped at him. Pyroar glared as the ground shook, and I turned to see Vixen and Viola riding Yuyu towards us. Yuyu stopped just short of the group and glared at the Pyroar, growling menacingly at them. He opened his mouth and brandished lots of sharp teeth while Lola chattered at them. The Pyroar instantly surrendered, parting as Vixen and Viola dismounted from Yuyu and ran over to us.

"Good grief, what is all this fuss about? Is everyone alright?" Viola asked worriedly. I opened my mouth to reply when I felt my legs give out. Sabrina dove under me as I fell, cushioning the impact while everyone crowded around me, but my vision started to fade and I couldn't make out their voices.

'_Rest well, Aldith. We will take it from here._' Yuyu said gently, his voice fading as I blacked out completely.

I woke up sometime after, though I wasn't sure how long. I felt a weight on my chest shift around before disappearing completely, and I heard hushed voices all around me. I groaned as I opened my eyes, seeing the bottom of a bed above me. I blinked and sat up, realizing I was back in the pokemon center, and looked around at the cramped room. Shauna and Viola were sitting on the top bunk on the other side of the room, looking at me in relief. On the bottom bunk below them were two Pyroar, Litleo's mother and a male, watching me carefully. On the end of my bed, Romeo purred at me, curled around Litleo, while Boomer and Sasha watched me while upside down above them. Celeste and Vixen were sitting on the floor beside me, looking up at me like I was the greatest person in the world.

"Hey there, you doing okay?" Viola asked. I blinked at her as I opened my mouth. When I tried to speak, I began to go into a violent, coughing fit. As I sat there and hacked my lungs up, I felt a hand on my back while a water bottle was thrusted into my hands. Seeing that the cap was off, I sat up and gripped the mouth of the bottle in my teeth, downing the cold, soothing liquid like I haven't had a drink in years. When the bottle was emptied, I relaxed and closed my eyes, allowing someone to gently push me back into bed. I cracked an eye open and saw it was Vixen trying to tuck me back into bed while Celeste took the water bottle back, throwing the empty container back into her purse.

"I can't believe that training actually worked. I really fought two wild Pyroar with my bare hands and won." I said incredulously, making everyone laugh.

"Team Plasma certainly didn't mess around when it came to teaching you how to fight. How am I alive right now?" Vixen asked, making me chuckle.

"Same reason I am, we're just really hard to kill because we're too stubborn to just go belly up." I replied. Vixen snorted as I craned my neck to look at the cats at my feet. Litleo smiled and stood up, padding over to me and laying next to my arm. I reached out and rested my hand on Litleo's side, making it purr.

"So, what are you gonna call her?" Celeste asked suddenly. I blinked and turned to her, a cheeky grin plastered on her face.

"What do you mean?" I asked. Litleo's mother made a barking sound at me, drawing my attention to her and the male beside her.

"That male next to her? He's the leader of the pride, which is more like a super pride now. The takeover was a result of him trying to merge territories, which is why there were so many of them before you passed out." Vixen began.

"He refuses to provide for an unrelated male's cubs though, which is why this whole thing started. He's decided that since you were so adamant about protecting that Litleo, you get to choose. Either she lives as your pokemon, or he obeys the crappy Pyroar tradition. So, what are you going to call her?" Celeste finished, still grinning, I chuckled as I turned to the dresser, reaching for my bag on it. I fished around inside until I found an empty pokeball, holding it out to Litleo.

"Not much of a choice, is it? Would you settle for Nylass?" I asked her. Litleo beamed as she grabbed the pokeball in her mouth, standing up and leaping over me off the bed. Her mother adjusted herself on the bed and reached down to pull her cub up, hugging Nylass one last time before taking the pokeball out of her mouth and laying it on the bed. Nylass poked the button, and was pulled inside. The pokeball shook three times before ringing, showing that the capture was a success, and her mother picked it up, both Pyroar jumping off the bed. She strode over and set the ball beside my head, smiling gratefully at me before turning to the door with the male close behind. She reared up and grabbed the knob in both of her paws, turning it until the door opened, and the two cats left to return to the wild.

I sighed as I laid back in the bed, feeling a small headache coming on. Strangely enough, it dispersed almost immediately, leaving a warm, comforting sensation in its place. I closed my eyes as the sounds of a TV show filled the room.

"Where's Sabrina?" I asked after awhile.

"Still getting treated. She had a cracked rib and some gashes on her sides." Viola answered, and I winced as I remembered falling on her.

"If it makes you feel any better, Yuyu said that she told him the Pyroar you pinned down had her in his mouth, and that he was trying to break her in half with his jaws. All you did when she broke your fall was knock the wind out of her." Vixen said, which was indeed comforting.

"Alright then. Am I okay to go back to sleep? Because I am really sore and really tired." I said with a sigh.

"Yeah, go ahead and get some sleep. Nurse Joy's Wigglytuff will be here to finish treating your wounds soon." Viola answered. I hummed as I reached over and grabbed Nylass' pokeball, calling her out. She mewled softly as I held my arms apart, keeping my eyes closed. I felt her climb on top of me and curl up, snuggling into me as I wrapped my arms around her. Another warm feeling welled up inside me and gently lulled me back to sleep.

Along with Nylass' purring.

* * *

TBC

And here we are! Chapter 13! I will admit, I was going to kill Nylass' mother in this chapter. The original idea was for the Fletchling that bugged Celeste to come by and tell them of her passing when they went out to look for her, but I just couldn't do it. Celeste will explain what went on instead next chapter.

I did get to show off how much of a badass Aldith is though. Taking on two fully grown Pyroar and _winning_? How did Team Plasma not conquer Unova again? XD I wonder what happened to that first Pyroar though, the one she was scrapping with before she went to help Sabrina. Kinda odd for him to just up and disappear like that.

So, we now have Nylass, who is one of my most memorable pokemon for a very odd reason. The reason is because of the profanity filter in the main games that gets progressively more ridiculous with each new game. You can't even name a pokemon after Viola, either because it's half of the word "Violent" or because it apparently translates to "violated" in French, in the um, "personal" way. The fandom can't seem to agree on which it is.

Anyway, so why exactly am I allowed to get away with having the word "Ass" in my pokemon's name? Seriously? Nylass is fine but Froslass isn't? WTF?

I'm just rambling now, lol. Enjoy the chapter, and I'll see you next chapter, where we will marvel at Aldith's wonderful, new, Braixen. ^^

14 will be coming soon!


	15. Chapter 14: Flashes and Shadows

I woke up a couple of hours later, feeling something soft and leathery on my face. I groaned as I reached up to brush it away, and when I opened my eyes I saw Boomer backing away and fluttering back to his sister, clutching the edge of the top bunk and hanging upside down again.

"It got really bright in here, and we were worried it would wake you up." Vixen explained as I looked at her sprawled out on her bed.

"How long was he like that? Couldn't have been too comfortable for him." I said, turning back to my pokemon. Boomer smiled and waved a wing dismissively at me as Vixen chuckled.

"Actually, he looked very relaxed. I think this upside-down thing is more of a habit than a necessity. How are you feeling?" Vixen asked. I breathed deeply and let it out slowly, reaching up to pet Nylass on my chest.

"Much better, actually. I don't think I slept very well last night. Where did Viola and Shauna go?" I asked, noticing that neither of them were around.

"They went to the gym to get their battle going. Viola was only here because Yuyu's roar scared the crap out of everyone in town, and it's her job to keep them safe." Celeste said, her head appearing over the side of the bed.

"Oh, okay. So, what were you doing while I was manhandling that Pyroar?" I asked, raising a brow. Celeste grinned as her head disappeared, and she leapt off the bed , landing on the floor with a thud that shook her legs and made her sit down.

"Ick, it's been awhile since I did a jump like that. I'm out of practice. Anyway, before Boomer came flying at us like a rabid pokemon, Sorrel, Sasha and I were looking for the mom just like you. We found her hiding in a tree with the remains of your old shirt, and we managed to coax her down. We started to head back to Vixen when a male came out and attacked us. He and her mom went at it furiously, but she was so tired and weak, so I got off Sorrel and he went in and gave her a hand, and we managed to chase him off. About that time we heard a big roar, and then Boomer came screaming at us, so I hopped back onto Sorrel and we all rushed over, and I saw you getting frisky with that other Pyroar." She explained, grinning when I coughed at her frisky comment.

"For your information, I was saving my pokemon! He was trying to bite Sabrina in HALF." I snapped at her, waking up Nylass.

"Lit?" She asked. Celeste continued to grin cheekily at me as I flopped my head on the pillow, somewhat irritated.

"Aww, don't be like that, you know I'm just kidding. Besides, she's fine now. In fact, Sabrina should be back any minute now." Celeste said, leaning back and looking at the door. I blinked as I turned my head to look at her.

"Really? She's okay now? When did that happen?" I asked as the door opened, my Braixen walking in with a large tray of food. Vixen leapt out of bed and rushed over to help Sabrina carry the food in, setting it on the dresser. Turning her head to me, Sabrina smiled when she saw I was awake.

"Brai?" She asked, walking over to me. Carefully maneuvering her wand, Sabrina sat on the edge of the bed and reached out to me, resting her paw on my forehead.

"I'm fine Sabrina, how about you?" I asked. She smiled as she pulled her paw away, closing her eyes.

"Braixen." She replied happily. She began to hum quietly as I moved Nylass off my chest so that I could sit up. I turned my attention to the tray she brought and looked over the food on it, reaching over and grabbing a sandwich that was on it.

"So, do we want to wait for Shauna to finish her battle, or should we just go ahead to Lumiose?" Vixen asked as I bit into my sandwich. I hummed as I thought it over, closing my eyes.

"Well, she DID tell us not to, but I wouldn't mind waiting for her to get done. It would give me and Sabrina more time to rest after the fight with the Pyroar." I said, opening my eyes to look at my pokemon. Sabrina smiled briefly at my words, but kept her eyes closed, almost like she was in some sort of trance. Celeste yawned loudly as she stretched out as much as she could.

"Well in that case, I'm gonna hop back up and get some more shuteye. I can't believe I've been up since before seven." She said, standing up and pulling herself onto the bed. Vixen gave her a deadpan look as Celeste curled up under the blankets.

"And what exactly stopped you while Aldith was sleeping?" She asked in a matching tone.

"It was too noisy! Between you and Shauna and Viola and the TV, I could barely hear myself think!" Celeste replied in an annoyed tone.

"So you CAN think. That's good to know." I said, making Vixen, Sasha, and Sabrina snicker.

"Shut up." Celeste said bitterly. I chuckled as I took another bite of my sandwich, scooting back on the bed so that I could prop my back against the wall. I heard my Holo Caster ring and set my sandwich on the dresser, reaching into my purse to pull the device out. Malva appeared from it again, looking considerably less friendly than the first time.

"_Hello and welcome to the Kalos Holo Caster, I am your reporter, Malva. Following the discovery of the Tree of Life, evidence has been found that Yveltal is becoming active, if not already awakened. Though we have not yet located the Cocoon of Destruction, there have been a rash of unexplained deaths within the wild pokemon population in the west, and Absol sightings have been on the rise, particularly near Ambrette Town._

_In response to this, Lysandre Labs has volunteered to conduct a search for the Cocoon of Destruction, thereby allowing the Gym Leaders to continue running their gyms. They hope to relocate it to the grove where Xerneas sleeps, with the theory being that by having Yveltal near Xerneas when it awakens, it will take life energy from Xerneas instead of bystanders._

_If you have any information regarding the location of the Cocoon of Destruction, please contact Lysander Labs. You may find the number for their anonymous tip line on the front page of my website._" As the message ended, no one spoke. The only thing breaking the silence was the sound of the TV in the background, but we tuned it out as we mulled over Malva's report.

"Do either of you know what Lysandre Labs is?" Vixen asked after awhile.

"It's some big technology company. They're the ones who came up with the Holo Caster, and they do a lot of research on pokemon so that they can make gadgets that help us interact with them. I heard that it's owned and run by an old butt-buddy of Sycamore's." Celeste answered. I couldn't help but chuckle at her terminology, but I stopped when I saw the serious expression on Vixen's face.

"What is it?" I asked. Vixen just stared at nothing as she reached up and put her fingers over her right eye, her other hand clenching into a tight fist.

"I don't know that I'm comfortable with this. Leaving the search of what is arguably the most dangerous pokemon in existence to a bunch of scientists? Shouldn't something like this be left to the Pokemon League?" Vixen asked. I frowned and pulled my legs free of the blanket, getting off the bed so that I could sit next to Vixen.

"Vixy, this isn't Team Plasma. We're not dealing with Ghetsis or Zinzolin, or even someone like Colress. Kalos has a bloody history that no one wants to repeat. I'm sure the League IS working closely with them, after all, Malva is a member of the Elite Four." I told her, putting my arm around her. Vixen leaned into me and wrapped her arms around my waist.

"I know I just…Have a bad feeling about this." She said quietly. Celeste adjusted herself on the bed to look at us with a confused expression, but one look from me told her not to pry. Instead, she yawned and stretched out, snuggling up in her blankets.

"Wake me up before you go go." She quipped, making me and Vixen burst into laughter. It was a much-needed break from the tension that Malva created with her announcement. Out of gratitude, we lowered the volume of the TV and laid back in the bed, putting the whole thing out of our minds.

About an hour later, Shauna returned, showing off her shiny new badge. After giving us the details of her fight, in which her Pansear was able to burn Vivillon and allow Lil' Ches to finish it, we decided that it was best to go ahead and start heading for Lumiose City. Rather than wake up Celeste ourselves and face her wrath, we left the task to Sasha, who was almost eager to do it.

When Celeste picked herself up from the floor after being startled by Sasha's Screech, and we recovered from laughing so hard, we started to get ready to go. All of the pokemon except for Boomer, Sasha, and Romeo were recalled into their pokeballs, and we headed out of the Pokemon Center. We let Shauna lead the way since she was the only one of us who actually bothered to ask Viola for directions. The walk through the city was fairly uneventful, but far from quiet as we coaxed another story out of Vixen. Celeste and I both had the same stupid grin on our faces as Vixen told us about her experience with the Humilau Gym Leader.

"He dismisses my claims about Team Plasma being a bad group, steals my lanyard, Lola and I barely survived his stupid whirlpool, and when I finally get the chance to get some payback on him, what does he do? He forfeits the second his Wailord gets paralyzed. And that was AFTER he spammed Cursed Body and Recover with his Jellicent to give poor Zacahry a hard time." Vixen ranted as she gripped Romeo's tail tightly, the purple cat purring and trying to calm her down.

"Seriously? Even paralyzed, Wailord are pretty freaking scary." I said. Vixen snorted and let Romeo's tail go, crossing her arms.

"Well by that point I was too pissed to really notice. Anyway, so after he pulled out of the match, I pretty much snapped. I marched over to him and I slugged him as hard as I could in the stomach. Then Lola comes charging over and grabs the fins on his pants, and the two heads just threw Marlon in the ocean. I think he might have bounced." Vixen said. Celeste and I roared in laughter while Shauna let out a shy giggle, and we actually had to stop so that Celeste and I could hold our sides together.

"Oh my god, Vixen, you can't just throw people. That's incredibly illegal!" Celeste teased, going into another fit of laughter.

"YOU try dealing with a hippy who can't be bothered! I did get pretty freaked out when I realized what just happened though. Thankfully he came back up right away, and I helped haul him out of the water. We had a very long talk afterwards, and I think I knocked some sense into him, literally and figuratively." She said, eliciting some worn-out laughter from me and Celeste.

"How can you be sure? He sounds like an irresponsible Gym Leader to me." I asked, straightening myself out and reaching up to pet Boomer on my head.

"Why do you think the gangplank on the Frigate kept coming loose? That was HIS Mantine." Vixen answered, to my shock.

"Wait, really? Huh, no one ever saw a human with that Mantine. Barret assumed that it just wanted to annoy us since Colress kinda parked us on a coral bed it frequented." I said, blinking as Celeste and Shauna turned to me.

"Come again? What were you doing on a boat belonging to a bad group?" Celeste asked. I blushed and laughed nervously, holding my hands behind my back as I looked away sheepishly.

"Um, I kinda joined Team Plasma a few years ago? When I first joined it, it was supposed to be a Pokemon Rights group to protect pokemon." I said nervously. I felt a pair of hands on my shoulders, and looked up to see both Shauna and Celeste smiling warmly at me.

"Well, it's called the past for a reason. Whatever happened, you've obviously moved beyond it. As far as I'm concerned, you're still my travel buddy slash chaperone." Celeste said with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"You and Celeste are the only ones who believe in me. You stood up for me when I was being pressured, and you barely know me. That means more to me than some story about who you used to be." Shauna told me. I smiled and pulled the two girls into a hug while Vixen chuckled.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, there were actually two branches of Team Plasma. Aldith joined when there was only one under the impression it was to help pokemon, and when they split she stayed with that group. The only reason she was with the bad guys was because she was undercover, and honestly, if she wasn't there, I might not be here right now." Vixen added as we pulled away. Celeste grinned wider on hearing that and patted my shoulder gently.

"See? Even your past self was awesome! There's nothing to be ashamed of. Just let it go, let it g-." Celeste started, her reference being cut short by glares from me and Vixen.

"Go on. Do it. I DARE you." I said darkly.

"She can fight off pokemon, and my uncle is a martial arts master who spars with me every weekend. Think about your next move carefully." Vixen said as she cracked her knuckles. Celeste immediately shut her mouth and smiled innocently as she turned to Shauna.

"So um, where are we going again? That way right?" She asked. Sasha and Romeo snickered as Shauna blinked in confusion. She mumbled something as she started leading us again, and with a cheeky grin to each other, Vixen and I started following. I saw something flutter out of the corner of my eye, and as I turned to it I caught a glimpse of something blue, black and red.

"Huh?" I muttered, stopping.

"What's wrong, Aldith?" Vixen asked. I shook my head slowly and turned to the group.

"I could have sworn I saw something. Boomer, did you see or hear anything?" I asked, reaching up.

"Noibat." He replied, and Celeste shrugged.

"He shook his head no, so I dunno. I doubt it's anything worth worrying about though." She said, trying to assure me. I smiled at her as I took one last look at where I thought I saw something, shrugging and following the group as we moved forward.

Little did we know, something was indeed watching us very closely

* * *

TBC

Sorry I'm late, I'm staying at Ma's again and I got distracted by the high speed, unlimited cable internet. So. Much. Youtube.

I apologize for that very random song reference. I did not plan that, it just happened. Oh my god XD. The Frozen reference however, was intentional.

So, I have decided that unlike in Lola, I'm going to actually write down the pokemon that my characters have and their abilities/movesets so that I don't have to worry about it and get right back in if, Arceus forbid, I go on an unexpected hiatus. See guys? I'm learning!

Anyway, I'll get right on the next chapter. See you in 15!


	16. Chapter 15: A Test of Friendship

To say Route Four was beautiful was an understatement.

Flowers bloomed all around us, some red, some yellow, and danced in the gentle wind that blew. They were interspersed with some neatly-trimmed hedges, and all kinds of pokemon were seen tending to the plants, or using the hedges as pathways. Vixen looked at our surroundings with open-mouthed wonder, the others looking around in more refined, but thoughtful silence.

"Wow…Kalos is even prettier up close…." Vixen said quietly. I chuckled at her as I reached up to pet Boomer.

"A lot of care goes into the routes. Not just the pokemon, but humans work hard on keeping routes looking neat to make it easier to get through them." I explained.

"I think it's supposed to encourage people to travel or something." Shauna added. Celeste hummed as she looked around quickly, her head whipping about so fast that Sasha had to get off of her. The Noibat had a dizzy look on her face briefly before she glared at her trainer, chattering angrily at her.

"This looks like a great place to catch a pokemon! Surely, a pretty place has GOT to have pretty pokemon in it!" She said excitedly, ignoring Sasha. I chuckled at her as I stopped, looking ahead at the fountain in the distance.

"That might be a good place to start. Pokemon have to drink, after all." I suggested. Celeste beamed and took off down the path, and the rest of us followed her quickly. As we came up to the giant fountain, I found that I was right in my assumption. There were a lot of pokemon at the edge of the fountain, drinking from the pool that was fed by the two Horsea sitting on raised pedestals on the sides, a Clamperl in the middle of the fountain receiving the water and letting it flow into the pool below.

I snickered quietly as I watched Celeste chase the poor pokemon around, trying to initiate a battle with them. The Ledyba and Combee that had been there flew off long before Celeste got there, having seen her coming. Budew and Ralts fled into the flowers in a panic, while the Skittys seemed to think that this was some sort of game. They would beckon her over with their tails, and when Celeste got close, they ran off, letting her faceplant into the dirt. Watching her from afar, Flabebe of many different colors looked on in confusion and apprehension, though one Flabebe in particular, perched on top of its blue flower, seemed to be focused on her.

"Oh come on! Don't ANY of you want a trainer? Pleeeeeeeease?" Celeste wailed desperately. I sighed as Vixen crossed her arms, looking at Celeste with an amused expression.

"Maybe they do, but I don't think you are quite what they are looking for. You kinda blew your first impression." She said in a matter-of-fact tone. After failing to get the jump on another Skitty, Celeste looked up at her in mild annoyance while Sasha hovered above.

"Well then they don't know how to have fun. Come on! Surely one of you has a sense of humor!" Celeste asked, pulling herself onto her feet. She grimaced as she tried to straighten her hair out, only for Sasha to land on her head again and further mess it up.

"Bat." She said in content as she settled in.

"Dangit Sasha…" Celeste muttered in an angry, though defeated tone. Suddenly, a wave of sparkles slammed into Sasha, knocking her into the fountain while Celeste yelped in surprise.

"Are you okay?!" I asked Celeste as I started for her. I stopped when I saw the Flabebe from before floating behind Celeste, balancing carefully on its flower as it gripped strands of her hair.

"What is it?! What's it doing to my hair?! HELP!" Celeste cried meekly, trying to reach back for the pokemon, only for it to slap her hands away with a Vine Whip. Flabebe hummed as she started straightening out Celeste's hair, making me blink in confusion.

"I…I think it's fixing it. You have a Flabebe fixing your hair." I told her. Celeste blinked again as she stopped trying to fight Flabebe, standing still while the pokemon worked. With her vines free, she was able to pick up the pace, untangling Celeste's hair and styling it quickly. It hummed a song to itself as it reached for the flowers with a vine, picking a red one and bringing it back. It wove the flower into Celeste's hair, using its stem as a tie to keep her ponytail together while the flower itself sat on top. It floated back, appearing in front of Celeste while the girl fished in her bag for a mirror.

"Oh my gosh, I haven't looked this good since I was in Sinnoh!" Celeste cried as she marveled at the work Flabebe did. We heard a splash behind her, and turned to see Sasha scrambling out of the fountain, looking understandably livid.

"Noibat! Noibat bat!" She snarled, shaking the water off herself before taking off into the air. Celeste grinned as she turned to Flabebe.

"I want you, but Sasha would never forgive me if I asked without a fight. What do you say?" She asked. Flabebe smiled and nodded, floating back while Celeste skipped over to us. Sasha quickly positioned herself in front of Celeste, impatiently waiting for a command.

"Good luck!" I said as we backed up. Celeste grinned at me, turning back to the battle.

"Alright Sasha! Let's start things off with Gust!" She commanded. Sasha beat her wings hard, sending visible streaks of wind over to Flabebe. Flabebe's eyes darkened in confidence as she floated off of her flower, making the plant spin rapidly to produce that same wave of sparkles. The Fairy Wind and Gust collided and canceled each other out, which gave Flabebe just enough of an opening for her to turn her flower quickly, sending out two Razor Leafs. Sasha darted out of the way quickly, and Celeste had to duck to avoid getting cut by Flabebe's attack.

"Bebe." Flabebe said apologetically. Celeste grinned as she straightened herself, pumping a fist towards Sasha.

"It's all good. Sasha, Supersonic!" Celeste commanded. Sasha squeaked and flew in as close as she could to Flabebe, opening her mouth and releasing a high-pitched squeal that made Flabebe, Romeo, and Boomer cringe. Coiling her body around the stamen of her flower, Flabebe put her tiny hands over her ears and held them tight to block out the sound. From the way her flower swayed though, I could tell it wasn't working. Sensing that she had lost that round, Flabebe switched tactics, pulling her arms away from her head.

"Bebe, bebe, bebe." She chanted over and over.

"Woah, Lucky Chant? Celeste, if you catch her, she'll be excellent support." I told my friend. Celeste grinned as she nodded in agreement.

"Sasha, Tackle her!" She cried.

"Noibat!" Sasha replied, slamming as hard as she could into Flabebe. The impact sent the two of them right into the fountain, causing a large amount of water to splash upward. Sasha flew out a few seconds later, shaking the water off herself and leaping back into the air. She and Celeste watched the water carefully, waiting for Flabebe to come back up as well. To our surprise, a Fairy Wind emerged instead, slamming into Sasha. The Noibat screeched as she was thrown backwards, landing at Celeste's feet.

"Sasha! Are you okay?!" Celeste asked worriedly. Sasha groaned as she struggled to stand, but succeeded only in flipping herself over. Resting on her stomach, Sasha muttered something to herself before passing out, and Celeste sighed in defeat as she held out her pokeball. She whispered a comforting apology to Sasha as she recalled her, and a smaller splash told us Flabebe had finally emerged from the water.

"Flabebe." The pokemon said quietly, floating up to Celeste. Celeste smiled at her sadly and sighed, reaching to rub the back of her neck.

"I guess you win, but thanks for the battle anyway." Celeste said. Flabebe smiled and floated closer to Celeste, sticking her face in hers. She softly kissed the tip of Celeste's nose, making the girl blink as Flabebe pulled away and watched her expectantly.

"Celeste, I think she wants to come with you anyway." I said. Flabebe's eyes glimmered as she nodded, and Celeste immediately perked up.

"Really? Really really?! HOORAY! Okay okay um…hmm, what to name you what to name you…" She said, her body practically vibrating from excitement.

"Careful Celeste, don't hurt yourself." Vixen said with a chuckle.

"I GOT IT! You'll be my first ever Fairy-Type, so I'll call you Fay! You okay with that?" She asked the pokemon excitedly. Flabebe smiled and nodded, happy with Celeste's choice. Bubbling with excitement, Celeste let loose a triumphant cry as she reached into her bag for a pokeball, holding it out to Fay. Fay floated closer and tapped the button on the front, allowing herself to be pulled inside, flower and all. The ball barely shook, as though Fay was merely trying to get comfortable, before it pinged success.

"Congrats Celeste! But I wonder, how was she able to knock Sasha out? That seemed one-sided on the wrong end." Vixen asked curiously.

"That's probably because Dragon-Types are weak to Fairy-Types." Shauna said, making Vixen blink.

"Yeah, Noibat are kinda squishy to begin with if I remember right, so a Fairy Wind from a Fairy pokemon would make short work of them." I added.

"Huh, good to know." Vixen said. I grinned as I bent down and poked Lola's pokeball on her lanyard.

"They are also strong against Dark-Types, so Lola may be screwed if she goes up against one. And Dragon-Type moves won't do any better on a Fairy than a Normal-Type move would on a Ghost." I said. Vixen gulped audibly and gripped her pokeball tightly.

"Thank you, I'll keep that in mind. Geez, just when you think you know all there is, something unexpected comes up." Vixen said. We all laughed as Celeste danced around with Fay's pokeball, paying little mind to our conversation. We watched her in proud amusement while the wild pokemon observed in stunned silence. After awhile, Celeste got bored and attached Fay's pokeball to her belt. She turned to us and smiled, still bubbling from excitement.

"Well? Are we gonna go to Lumiose or what?! Let's go let's go let's go!" She chattered, making me chuckle.

"Alright alright. The only reason we stopped is because YOU wanted to catch a pokemon. Let's get going." I said, making my way back on the path. The others followed me closely, silently admiring the rest of the pretty route, and soon we came up to the gate that would lead us to Lumiose City. Standing in front of the gate was a couple who seemed to be in a heated discussion about something. Upon noticing us, the dark-haired, dark-skinned girl beamed and turned to us with her hands clasped tightly in front of her.

"Hiya! Are you guy the new trainers?" She asked excitedly. Shauna scooted to stand behind me, somewhat off-put by the girl's bubbliness, but she relaxed when I reached back to grab her hand.

"Mostly, yes. My name is Aldith, and I took the Fennekin." I said, pulling Shauna in front of me.

"Um, my name is Shauna, I-I-I picked Ch-Chespin." She said nervously.

"I'm Celeste. I didn't pick a starter because I already had a pokemon, but I stole one of your Pokedexes anyway." Celeste said, nudging Shauna to try and snap her out of her nervousness.

"And I'm Vixen, I'm just visiting." Vixen said. The girl beamed at us as her lighter-skinned, male companion pulled her back, his dirty-blonde hair bouncing slightly.

"My name is Dexio and this is my partner, Sina. We're one of Professor Sycamore's Field Assistant teams. I actually undertook your journey myself two years ago. See?" He said, pulling out an older, more worn-out pokedex.

"Our job now is to see how much the wild pokemon populations have changed since Dexio last registered them. You're helping us out with that too, right?" Sina asked. I smiled and nodded, reaching into my purse to pull out my pokedex.

"Yep, we've gotten some data already, but nothing out of the ordinary. Well, except for a couple of Noibat, but they were displaced from their original home because they were banished from their clan." I said, pointing to Boomer on my head. Sina and Dexio smiled as they nodded in acknowledgement.

"Alright then, well, shall we get going? Lumiose City is really hard to navigate for non-locals, so the Professor asked us to come meet you and bring you to the lab for your assignment." Dexio said, making Celeste groan.

"Aww man, we got homework? Laaaame." She whined. I elbowed her and shot a glare at her for her rudeness, but Sina only laughed dismissively.

"Oh I think you'll like this, this is a fun assignment, even Dexio didn't get to do this when he went on his journey. Right this way!" She said, turning to the gate and walking inside. Blinking after her, I turned to my friends, and we nodded at each other. Dexio smiled and walking in after Sina, and we followed him closely.

Upon exiting the gate, we were greeted with the bustling streets of Lumiose City. The sidewalks were choked with humans and pokemon commuting to and from their desired destinations, while the streets bustled with cars and rideable pokemon.

"This way, stay close everyone." Dexio said as he made a left onto the sidewalk. Grabbing Vixen's hand, we merged with the crowd and followed Dexio as closely as we could. Unfortunately, given how congested the foot traffic was, we slowly lost sight of him.

"Noibat!" Boomer said, fluttering off my head. He flew slowly over the crowd, and I smiled up at him.

"Thanks Boomer! Girls, just follow him!" I yelled over the hustle and bustle. Keeping my focus on my pokemon, we made it to Professor Sycamore's lab, evident by the two stone pokeballs sitting on the fenceposts of the golden iron-spear fence that encased the small yard. Sina and Dexio were waiting at the bottom of a small set of stairs while Boomer hovered high in between the two pokeballs. When we all made it out of the crowd, Boomer flew back over to me, and I held an arm out to him, keeping Vixen's hand clasped in my other one. Boomer landed on my outstretched arm, and I pulled him into my chest in a one-armed hug, nuzzling his ears softly.

"Noibat." He breathed happily.

"Well, now that you're all here in one piece, let's head on in. I'm sure you want to be on your way." Dexio said, walking up the steps and disappearing into the lab. Sina disappeared shortly after, and we all practically leapt up the stairs.

Compared to the organized chaos of Lumiose City, the inside of the lab was pristine and mellow. A woman with bleached hair stood at a counter, smiling warmly at us and chirping a greeting. Sina and Dexio walked into the elevator to the right of the counter, nodding at us.

"You want to go to the third floor. We'll meet you there." Sina said as the doors closed.

"The elevator is small, I suggest you recall your Liepard and go two at a time." The woman, who we figured was the secretary, said.

"Um, I kinda can't. He's pokemon number seven, so the pokeball is locked." Vixen said sheepishly.

"Oh dear, how did that happen? Pokeballs are supposed to lock after the pokemon is caught." The woman asked in shock.

"Uh, well he WAS mine, but I gave him to Vixen as a present. He happened to be out of the pokeball when I gave it to her." I said. The secretary blinked at us and smiled, reaching under the counter and pulling out a laptop with a miniature transporter.

"Well, you can transfer one of your pokemon to the network from here if you like." She offered, making Vixen tilt her head.

"Unless it goes to the Unova network, I'm afraid I can't." Vixen said. The secretary hummed as she turned the laptop to herself, typing away on it. After a few minutes, the elevator came back down, and we gestured for Celeste and Shauna to go first. They disappeared inside, and the elevator whirred as it closed and took them to the third floor.

"All set, I've got it connected to the Unova Pokeball network. Just log in, and you'll get connected to your account." Said the secretary. Vixen beamed as she walked over to the counter, standing on her toes to see the screen clearly.

"Lie." Romeo meowed, walking over to Vixen and nudging her legs. Vixen sighed as she stepped on the cat, standing on him as he raised her up to give her a better view.

"Thank you." Vixen mumbled to him. After typing in her details, Vixen plucked a pokeball off her belt, setting it into the transporter. The pokeball disappeared into a flash of light, and upon looking over her shoulder, I saw the silhouette of a Vullaby slide across the screen. A bright, bolded "OK!" flashed once before the screen faded to the menu, and with a smile, Vixen logged out, pushing the laptop back to the secretary.

"All done?" The woman asked, pulling her equipment back and setting it back under the counter.

"Yes, thank you very much. I didn't think to ask anyone about doing that." Vixen said, getting off of Romeo. Petting the Liepard, Vixen mumbled another soft thanks to him as she pulled out his now-unlocked pokeball, recalling him into it. I felt a small pang of sadness in my chest as I realized that this was probably the last time I would see Romeo for a long time, but I buried the feeling and put a smile on my face before Vixen could notice anything off. The elevator returned again, and with a nod to each other, I recalled Boomer and we made our way inside. Pressing the "three" on the panel, the elevator closed and made a rumbling sound, and soon we were going up.

The room we were taken to was no less neat than the lobby. Various frames were hanging on the walls, depicting charts, pictures, and some important documents like awards. Where there wasn't a frame on the wall, there were bookcases reaching up half the height of the room, filled to the brim with textbooks and notebooks.

"Hello, this way, ladies." Said a smooth, masculine voice. Looking to our right, we saw a blue and gold divider that was just a little bit shorter than the elevator we rode. Vixen and I glanced at each other as we made our way through the room, passing some desks where Sina and Dexio sat and typed away, and walked around the end of the divider. Celeste and Shauna were busy admiring some of the paintings that were propped up against the divider, while Trevor and Tierno stood on either side of a tall, dark-haired man in a long lab coat. His dark blue shirt seemed to be form fitting, looking almost painted on, while his black pants were held up by a gold belt that had a black pokeball in the center of the buckle. The man smiled at us, his chin covered in short hairs, but not a true beard.

"Hello, are you Professor Sycamore?" I asked. He hummed and nodded, holding his arms apart slightly.

"Indeed I am. Augustine Sycamore, at your service. I have tasked myself with the study of Mega Evolution, for it is my dream to understand it. What IS Mega Evolution? What determines which pokemon can use it? What is the nature of it? What is the correlation between Mega Stones and Key Stones? All of these questions burn in my mind, but with the help of spry, young trainers such as yourself, maybe I will be able to unravel these mysteries." He said with a flourish, looking almost excited by the prospect of my journey.

"Well, I appreciate you allowing me onto the project even though I kinda went about this informally. So, I heard you have an assignment for us?" I asked. Professor Sycamore laughed warmly and shook his head slowly at us.

"Oh don't worry about that. Part of what makes life fun is the stuff that happens unexpected. Honestly, I'm glad that there are more people who want to travel with the pokedex. As for your assignment, before I get into that, I would like to see your starter. I have already seen Shauna's Chespin, and I am delighted by its condition." He said. I smiled and nodded, grabbing Sabrina's pokeball off of my belt and holding it out.

"Alright then. Come on out, Sabrina." I said. The pokeball opened, and my Braixen took shape quickly from the light in front of me. She hummed at Sycamore and bowed her head respectfully at him, folding her arms behind her back.

"Amazing! I gave you that Fennekin just a short time ago, but already you have made her into a Braixen, and a fine one at that. Here I thought Trevor's Froakie would be the first to evolve because I had it the longest, but clearly, you are a skilled trainer." The professor gushed, making me grin sheepishly.

"Well, I have a bit of experience. Sabrina actually isn't my first pokemon. My first pokemon was a baby Purrloin back when I was living in Unova. Um, it's a long, long story that I'd rather not go into." I said, turning my gaze to the floor.

"Brai." Sabrina said, putting one of her paws under my chin and tilting my head up. She smiled warmly at me, and I felt reassured by the look.

"Worry not, I won't pry. Today is supposed to be an exciting one, so there is no need to taint it with the unsavory parts of the past. I was only asking because I wanted to assess whether you were ready for my assignment or not, and you haven demonstrated the first part excellently. Next, I have another test for you. Trevor, if you would please." He asked. Trevor smiled as he walked around Sycamore's desk, opening a drawer and pulling out a tube full of pokeballs, just like the one he had when he was giving me and Shauna our starters in Aquacorde. He reached inside and pulled the pokeballs out, one by one, and set them on the desk. When all three were out, he placed the tube behind the desk, and then opened each pokeball. From the lights that emerged from the pokeballs came three pokemon, a Ivysaur, a Charmeleon, and a Wartortle, who all waited expectantly in front of the desk.

"Kanto starters? Why do you have them?" I asked, tilting my head. Sycamore chuckled as he stepped away, gesturing to the pokemon.

"That's not important right now. Right now, I would like you to select another pokemon. Pick one of these pokemon, and be ready to battle with it please." He asked. I blinked at him in confusion, thinking he was kidding. When he said nothing else, I knew he was serious, and I looked over the pokemon carefully. I then turned to Sabrina and rested my hand on her shoulder.

"Your input matters too, do you have a suggestion?" I asked, hearing an intrigued hum from Sycamore. Sabrina smiled and shook her head, gesturing towards the pokemon and stepping back, crossing her arms over her chest and closing her eyes. I smiled at her actions, glad to know that she trusted whatever decision I made, and turned my attention back to the pokemon. I stared long and hard at them, but none of them budged, except for the Charmeleon whose boredom and impatience was becoming more and more clear with each passing second. I laughed and walked up to the pokemon, poking Charmeleon in the belly and making it narrow its eyes at me.

"Char?" It asked in an annoyed tone.

"I don't know what you were told when you were assigned starters, but clearly it has something to do with showing respect. I can tell you don't give a crap about that though, and you'd rather your trainer earn your respect instead of the other way around. I'm up for the challenge if you are willing to let me try." I told it. Charmeleon blinked in surprise as Ivysaur and Wartortle gasped in astonishment, looking almost horrified. With a grin, Charmeleon nodded and held one of its arms out to me. I smiled back and gently grabbed the arm, and we shook on our deal. Releasing its hand, Charmeleon turned around, batting its pokeball at me with a claw. I caught it expertly in my hand, placing it on my belt while a clapping sound filled the air.

"Excellent, excellent! Yes, I'm getting more and more impressed with you, Aldith! Now you have one more test, but first, Shauna, I would also like you to pick a pokemon, if you please." Professor Sycamore said. Shauna smiled sheepishly and nodded, turning to the pokemon on the desk. Ivysaur and Wartortle were still somewhat shocked both by Charmeleon's behavior and my complete acceptance of it. Biting her lower lip, Shauna walked over to Wartortle and tapped its shell, making the little turtle turn to her.

"Um, would you like to come with me, Wartortle?" She asked hesitantly. Wartortle blinked and came out of its stupor, processing Shauna's request. Realizing what she asked. it beamed at her and nodded, leaping into her and burying its face into her chest while she hugged it with a giggle.

"Wonderful, alright Ivysaur, thank you for your time." Sycamore said, turning to the grass starter. Ivysaur shook its head quickly and turned to the professor, smiling and nodding before it kicked at its pokeball. Upon being pulled inside, Sycamore walked over to the pokeball and picked it up, pocketing it and turning to us.

"So, do we have to battle now?" I asked, looking around nervously at the cramped office.

"Yes, but fear not. Everyone, if you are not Shauna or Aldith, please come here and stand by the desk. Shauna, go stand by Aldith." He said. With some confused sounds going around the room, everyone walked briskly to their position as the Professor leaned against his desk, reaching under it. I heard a loud click come from it, and the floor shook.

Shauna and I yelped as we sank beneath the floor, and Charmeleon quickly jumped down to stand by me. Looking over the end of the platform, I saw a lab that was in full operation, scientists and interns scrambling to get their work done while machines all over whirred.

"Battle's coming! Everyone get clear!" I heard a voice cry out. Everyone practically threw themselves against the wall as the floor beneath them opened up, a huge, glass platform rising up. Shauna and I yelped again as our platform separated, forcing the two of us to opposite ends of the room while the glass platform rose up and connected us. When everything stopped moving, I shakily took a step forward and looked up to see Sycamore smiling down at us.

"Alright, you two may begin whenever. It's only a one on one battle, and you may only use your new pokemon." He called down. I sighed and turned to Charmeleon, smiling at it.

"What do you say? Ready to try me out?" I asked it. Charmeleon smirked and nodded, marching onto the glass in front of me while Shauna set her Wartortle down.

"Um, okay Wartortle. Just do your best!" She said, trying to instill confidence in her new pokemon. I grabbed my pokedex and scanned Charmeleon to look at its moves, smiling at the rather impressive moveset.

"I think you'll be able to help your teammate Boomer. Let's start things off with Dragon Pulse!" I commanded. Charmeleon opened its mouth wide, holding its head high before throwing it forward, sending a fierce-looking Dragon Pulse in breath form towards Wartortle.

"Quick! Withdraw!" Shauna said. Wartortle leapt up and pulled itself into its shell before the Dragon Pulse hit it, sending the protected pokemon spinning towards the edge of the battlefield. Luckily, Wartortle hit an invisible barrier, bouncing back and coming to a rest in front of Shauna. Wartortle popped out of its shell, unharmed, and Shauna beamed.

"Wartortle war!" It cried happily.

"Alright! Now use Water Gun!" Shauna cried.

"Quick, use Smokescreen!" I said as fast as I could. Charmeleon's and Wartortle's cheeks puffed up, and they released their respective attacks. Charmeleon dove into the cloud of smoke as the Water Gun pushed through, slamming the ground my by feet.

"It's okay Wartortle! Just keep up your Water Gun!" Shauna called over the smoke. Wartortle blasted its Water Gun over and over, but thankfully the lack of cries from Charmeleon told me that every one of them missed.

"Charmeleon, just hang in there, wait for my command." I said to the smoke cloud. The smoke dispersed little by little with every Water Gun that Wartortle launched into it, but I had faith that Charmeleon would trust me to know how to deal with this.

"Keep it up! It's almost gone!" Shauna told Wartortle proudly. I squinted into the thinning smoke, and I could make out Charmeleon's form inching closer and closer to Wartortle. With a grin, I pumped my fist forward.

"Bite!" I cried. With a fierce cry, Charmeleon leapt out of the smoke, its mouth wide open, and it clamped tightly onto Wartortle's arm. Wartortle screeched as it tried to pull itself free from Charmeleon's grip, but the faux-dragon refused to let go. Shauna whimpered as she scrambled for her belt, grabbing Wartortle's pokeball.

"Oh no! Come back, Wartortle! It's okay!" She said, recalling her pokemon. Charmeleon growled in annoyance as Wartortle was pulled free from it's grip, but ur calmed down when I cleared my throat warningly. I heard some clapping above me, and looked up to see Sycamore and the others clapping for us.

"Well done, Aldith, and good call Shauna. You clearly understand when enough is enough. I'm proud of you both, now come back up here." He said as the glass battlefield began to sink. I sunk to my knees on my platform and held my arm out to Charmeleon, who leapt up and took my outstretched hands without hesitation. I pulled it onto the platform and curled my legs around it as we began to move to Shauna, and when we were reunited, we rose back up into the professor's office. I didn't let Charmeleon go until the floor stopped moving, and it pulled away from me with an approving, yet grateful nod. Sabrina walked over to us and greeted Charmeleon, chirping in annoyance when it turned its nose away from her, crossing its arms.

"Hey now, play nice, Charmeleon. Sabrina's your teammate and my official starter, so mind your manners." I told it warningly. Charmeleon snorted in response, making no other move to acknowledge me, as Sycamore laughed.

"Yeah that Charmeleon is a bit, spirited. Even the trainer who raised him from a Charmander said they had a hard time controlling him. Given your reasons for choosing him and the way you did it though, I have no doubt you'll tame his rebellious spirit. And when you do, you'll be able to use these." He said, holding out a box to me. I blinked at the package and took it gingerly from him, holding it out to Sabrina. She took it and balanced it on her paws while I opened it, and to my surprise, it was a Mega Evolution kit! A Key Stone glittered next to a black band that had an indent where the Key Stone would fit, and beside the Key Stone, there was an adjustable collar and two Mega Stones underneath it, a bright yellow-and-red one inside of an orange crystal, and a dark blue-and-black one inside of a cornflower-colored crystal.

"Wait…can we really have these?!" I asked incredulously. Professor Sycamore chuckled as he cleared his throat.

"Well, not quite. I have many Mega Stones that were kindly donated to me by travelers sympathetic to my studies, but that Key Stone and Mega Ring are the only ones I have. I am too busy with my own work here to really make use of it, so I decided to pass them onto the trainer who would be most likely to make use of them. From the way you have raised and commanded your pokemon, even one that you just received, I have decided that YOU are that trainer." He said, walking up to me and gesturing to the contents of the box.

"And you may only select one of the Charizardite Mega Stones. A pokemon can only use one Mega Stone at a time, and the Key Stone reacts violently if you try to activate more than one, even if you only intend to activate one. Charizardite X will grant your future Charizard brutal strength, as well as give it a Dragon typing. Charizardite Y, on the other hand, will enhance your Charizard's special attacks, give it almost lightning fast speed, and give it an ability that has only ever been seen in the pokemon Groudon, and in very few Ninetales." He said, pointing out each stone as he described them. I nodded as I grabbed the two Mega Stones, holding them out to Charmeleon.

"This is your body bud, you decide what to do with it. Either stone sounds good to me, so you get to choose." I told it. Charmeleon opened its eyes and smirked at me, glancing briefly at the two Mega Stones before grabbing the Charizardite Y from me. With a smile, I nodded and stood up, handing the unclaimed Mega Stone to Sycamore. He took it from me proudly, nodding at me approvingly as he pocketed the stone.

"Yes, I think you are well on your way to achieving Mega Evolution. As for the rest of you." He started, turning to Shauna and Celeste while Vixen helped me put on my Mega Ring and fit the Key Stone inside.

"So, if only Aldith gets the Mega Ring, what are we going to do?" Celeste asked. Sycamore laughed as he walked to the back of his desk, pulling open a drawer.

"Well, I was just about to get to that. Like I said, I only have one Mega Ring and Key Stone, but I have many Mega Stones. I can't help you quite as much as I helped Aldith, but I still want you and Shauna to research Mega Evolution on your own time. Take this Ampharosite and Blastoisinite, and find your own way to trigger them." He said. Celeste narrowed her eyes at the Ampharosite, it's orange and yellow twist glittering from it's clear crystal encasement.

"How did you know I have a member of the Ampharos line? I never filled out the form." Celeste asked suspiciously. Sycamore laughed as he nudged the Mega Stone further towards her while Shauna tentatively took the brown-and-blue Blastoisinite.

"Trevor told me of course. He said that his observations of you and your Mareep make him suspect that you two might be able to make it work. Don't you want to try?" He asked. Celeste kept glaring at the Mega Stone, but relaxed quickly and took the stone, brushing her fingers over its smooth surface before putting it carefully into her purse.

"Eh, might as well. Kalos culture is centered all around Mega Evolution, so I might as well see what all the hubbub is about." She said, grinning from ear to ear. I sighed in exasperation as I grabbed the collar that would hold the Charizardite Y, reaching for the Mega Stone from Charmeleon. After fitting the Mega Stone inside, I helped Charmeleon put the collar on, though leaving it plenty loose for when he actually evolved.

"So, I've got a pretty Kalosian name for you. You alright with Lavier?" I asked. He snorted at me, but didn't act like he hated the name, so I figured that was as close to a 'yes' as I was going to get from him, for now at least. Bonding with Lavier to the point where I'd be able to mega evolve him was going to be tough.

But I was up to the challenge.

* * *

TBC

I'm so sorry I'm late! I'm finally home from Ma's, which means I'm cut off from my unlimited youtube XD. That means more on-time chapter releases. ^^

The reason I'm not doing the accent in Flabebe's name is because that accented e only shows up on Flabebe, and its actually kinda hard for me to make symbols like that on my macbook.

Also, Lavier's name is the word "Lava" twisted to have a French accent on it. I don't know French well enough to pepper it in, but gosh darn it, I'm going to have some French-sounding names XD. And this is not going to be a case of Ash's Charizard. Lavier's proud, but he's not stupid, or arrogant the way Sasha was at first. He will calm down a bit though when Aldith discovers his secret dream ;3.

I know the ending there felt kind of abrupt, but it was starting to stretch on and on, and there are a couple more events in Lumiose City before we can leave it, so I figured this was as good a place to stop as any so that I can pick it right up again in the next chapter.

Onto 16!


	17. Chapter 16: Political Power

After everyone settled down and we got our Mega Stones, Professor Sycamore told us that the best places to start researching Mega Evolution would be Camphrier Town and the Tower of Mastery in Shalour City. From where we stood right now, Camphrier Town was closer, so we figured we'd make a loop around Western Kalos that way, maybe earn a badge or two along the way.

Upon making it into the lobby, Vixen and I were greeted with an odd sight. There was a tall man talking to the secretary. He had wild red hair that reminded me of a male Pyroar's mane, and his attire consisted of a dark gray, almost brown, pair of pants with a matching jacket that was outlined in red. A scarf of some kind was poking out of the fluffy collar of his jacket, and his bearded face had an almost serious expression as he spoke to the woman.

"Are you certain he is too busy? I have a few minutes if you can check." He said in a smooth, baritone voice. There was something about the man that was off, something that made me a little nervous, and I could tell Vixen felt it too from the way she stayed close to me and gripped my hand tightly.

"He reminds me of Ghetsis." Vixen whispered quietly. I nodded and pulled her behind me, backing us up to the waiting area to put some distance between us and the man. Suddenly, my Holo Caster rang, and I inwardly cursed as I reached into my bag to pull it out.

"_Hello and welcome to the Kalos Holo Caster, I am your reporter, Malva. The gym trainers standing guard at the Tree of Life have reported multiple sightings of a shady character attempting to get close to Xerneas. The man is described as tall with waist-length, white hair, and wearing patchy and dingy clothes. All attempts to apprehend the suspect have resulted in failure, but security around the tree has stepped up._

_If you see anyone matching this description, you are to command any vine or ice-wielding pokemon to entrap him and then call the guards. If you do not have pokemon who can hold the suspect at bay, then do not confront him, call Officer Jenny and keep a close eye on him._" The message ended abruptly. The man noticed us then, slowly shifting his attention from the secretary to us.

"Hello." He said in a tone that wanted to be warm, but just couldn't quite reach it.

"Um, hi?" I said unsurely. The man smiled as the elevator opened, Celeste and Shauna stepping out of it.

"Alllllldith. Did you get that Holo Caster message too? Who is stupid enough to try and get close to the Tree of Life? There are like, a million guards there! Oh hello, who are you?" Celeste said loudly, stopping abruptly upon seeing the strange man. He smiled at her and nodded.

"I take it you all have received a pokedex from the professor then? How wonderful! That is a wonderful thing, indeed. You are the chosen ones….I am Lysandre, inventor of the Holo Caster you hold." He said as the elevator whirred. Shauna looked at him in wonder, but Celeste just stared at him. Whether she was suspicious of him or not was hard to see, but at least that meant she was focused.

"My friend! It is wonderful to see you again!" Professor Sycamore's voice rang as he stepped out of the elevator. Lysandre turned to him and nodded as the professor walked over to us.

"Yes, it has been a while, hasn't it? Our work keeps us busy." He said simply, making Sycamore laugh warmly.

"Indeed. Girls, this is Lysandre, the chief of Lysandre Labs and a very good friend of mine. He and I work closely to learn as much about pokemon as we can so that we can build a brighter future for everyone." He said, sounding ecstatic. His cheerful attitude did little to comfort me, and I kept myself firmly between Lysandre and Vixen. Either he didn't notice or he didn't care, but he just looked at his arm and pulled his sleeve back, revealing a very expensive-looking watch. He frowned at it and looked back at Sycamore, dipping his head respectfully at him.

"It seems I have run out of time. I have an appointment to attend to at Cafè Soleil." He said, turning to the door. Sycamore pouted as he crossed his arms.

"What a shame, we'll have to shift our schedules sometime so that we can have a proper meeting. Do let me know if you find anything on Yveltal! It would be wonderful to study it!" He said excitedly. Lysandre froze as he reached the door, as though stunned by Sycamore's words.

"Yes." Was all he said as he walked out, sending a shiver down my spine. I felt a small pressure on my back, glancing behind me to see Vixen rubbing between my shoulder blades to try and calm me down. I smiled appreciatively at her as I turned to the others, and was surprised to see Sycamore had already left.

"That was strange." Celeste said simply. Shauna blinked and tilted her head in confusion.

"Yes…it was. Never mind that for now, where do we go from here? I'd like to spend a little bit more time with Vixen before we move on, if that's alright with you guys?" I asked, reaching back to grab Vixen's hand. I heard her take a sharp inhale as she gripped my hand tightly.

"Oh sure! I'm gonna go on ahead and see if I can challenge the Lumiose Gym. Thanks for letting me hang around a little while longer, guys." Shauna said. Vixen smiled and poked out from behind me, nodding at the girl.

"It was very nice to meet you Shauna, take care on your journey." She told her. Shauna beamed at Vixen and nodded as she left the lab, leaving me, Vixen and Celeste in the lobby.

"So, what are your plans? I am guessing you're gonna leave, but is there anything in particular you wanted to see before you did?" Celeste asked. Vixen and I exchanged glances, grinning upon realizing we had the same idea.

"We're going to follow Lysandre and see what he's up to. We don't trust him." I replied. Celeste grinned as she tossed up a pokeball, calling out Fay.

"Well then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" She said, reaching up to grab Fay's flower and tucking it into her collar, rushing out of the lab. Vixen and I blinked at each other momentarily before we nodded, following after Celeste while I grabbed Boomer's pokeball.

Boomer clung tightly to my head as we jogged behind Lysandre, keeping a large number of people in between us so that he didn't notice. My hand began to sweat from holding onto Vixen's for so long, but I was worried that we'd get separated in the crowd.

It didn't take long for Lysandre to reach his destination. The Cafè Soleil looked like a warm place that was perfect for meeting someone. I was relieved by the sight of people entering and exiting it at a fairly reasonable pace, which meant that Lysandre wasn't necessarily up to no good since his contact was inside. When he went in, I released Vixen's hand, and we all walked inside, taking the first available table we saw.

The real reason for the cafè's crowding though, seemed to come from the woman who stood near the back. She wore a beautiful, white costume that gave her an angelic appearance. The pink purse she carried in her hand offset the white nicely, as did the Key Stone that glittered on her neck, held in place by a charm held up by her necklace. She had faded blue, almost gray eyes that were full of warmth and wonder, yet still held an air of authority at the same time. Her ash-brown hair was styled like a flower, framing her face perfectly.

Lysandre walked up to her in an almost arrogant fashion, giving her a half-bow while she smiled at him. Judging by the way it was strained, I could tell she didn't trust Lysandre any more than Vixen or I did, and I already liked her for that.

"Greetings, Diantha. I trust you want to hear news about Yveltal?" Lysandre asked. My breath hitched in my throat upon learning the woman's name.

"Aldith…is that?" Vixen asked quietly.

"Yes, she's the Champion of Kalos." I whispered back.

"Yes, Lysandre, that was the agreement. Are you certain you have enough people for the task? As the Champion, I can grant you more manpower in the form of Gym Trainers from every active Gym in the region." She said in a light, tender voice.

"But of course. I have agents combing over the entire region looking for Yveltal. We're attempting to pinpoint the location of the Cocoon of Destruction by measuring the volumes of the unexplained pokemon deaths. Our theory is that the higher the concentration of death, the closer Yveltal will be." He replied. The answer made my skin crawl, but I was swiftly comforted by Boomer's wings draping over my ears.

"I see. Do you not worry that your people are in danger by employing such a method?" Diantha asked.

"You don't think yours would be as well if I accepted your offer? My people know what they are doing, madam. Hn, hahaha." He said, ending his retort with a chilling laugh. Diantha's eyes darkened as she crossed her arms, her purse bouncing against her elbow.

"What so funny?" She asked in a warning tone. Lysandre continued to laugh, and he shook his head dismissively at Diantha.

"Oh nothing, this is just becoming ugly. I've nothing new to report, so perhaps we should change the subject. It would be nice to just talk, do you not agree?" He asked. Diantha's eyes narrowed at him in annoyance, but she nodded in agreement at him.

"Very well." She said tersely. I leaned over to Vixen and tapped her shoulder, making her lean over to me so that her ear was next to my mouth.

"Do you think you can throw your weight as Grimsley's daughter and apprentice to march up there? She looks annoyed, and might appreciate some backup." I asked. Vixen hummed as she grabbed Lola's pokeball off her lanyard, nodding.

"Worth a shot, you and Celeste wait for me by the door, and you can be mine and Lola's entourage when we walk in." Vixen replied. I nodded as she scooted her chair back, hopping down and sneaking over to the door. I tapped Celeste on the shoulder, gesturing for her to follow me, and we quietly snuck over to wait for Vixen.

"You played a young girl so wonderfully in your debut on the silver screen." Lysandre asked. Diantha chuckled in response, and I carefully stood up straighter so that I could watch them, and I saw Diantha leaning against the wall.

"Thank you. Not many people remember that movie in the wake of my more recent ones." She replied.

"Come on Vixen, where are you?" I muttered quietly.

"A real shame that is, isn't it? Wouldn't you rather remain young and beautiful forever so you could always play such roles?" Lysandre asked.

"What a strange question… Why would I want to play the same old roles forever? Youth may be beautiful, but it's not all there is to life. Everything changes, Lysandre. I want to live and change with it. So I look forward to playing different roles as I get older." She replied.

"You were chosen to be a movie star, correct? Isn't it your duty to be ever beautiful? Everything beautiful should stay that way forever. I would make this world unchanging and eternal so all beauty will last forever, and end those who would allow it to fade in an instant." Lysandre replied in a heated tone. At that moment, Vixen walked back in, Lola floating in behind her. I sighed in relief as Celeste and I took our positions behind the Hydreigon, and we carefully waded through the crowd. There was a mixture of gasps and confused hums as we approached the duo, and Diantha raised a brow as she noticed us.

"And who are you?" Diantha asked, almost suspicious. Vixen cleared her throat and curtsied at Diantha, Lola bowing her middle head.

"My name is Vixen, and I am an Apprentice for the Unova Elite Four. This is Lola, my partner, and my friends Aldith and Celeste." She said in a posh accent. It took all of my willpower not to laugh, and I had to stamp on Celeste's foot to keep her composed. Diantha smiled warmly at us while Lysandre turned around.

"Oh. Hello again. This is Diantha, one of the most accomplished movie stars in Kalos. She moves the multitudes with her excellent acting… Which is to say, she dedicates her life to making other people happy." He said. Diantha shot an annoyed look at Lysandre.

"I'm more than capable of introducing myself, Lysandre." She said warningly, though he didn't seem to notice.

"Oh, if only everyone were like her-what a beautiful world this would be!" He said as a loud beeping emerged from his jacket. He blinked and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small tablet and giving it a quick look before putting it away.

"Everything alright, Lysandre?" Diantha asked, raising her brow at him. He nodded curtly as he turned towards us.

"Yes, it seems one of my experiments needs my attention. If you'll excuse me." He said, walking briskly past us. He exited the cafè without another word, and I couldn't help but sigh in relief.

"I don't know what you two are so worried about. He's TOTALLY not a bad guy or anything." Celeste said sarcastically. Diantha let out an undignified caw of laughter in response.

"Yeah, I feel like I'm in a cheesy movie. I should fire my agent if it is, I have a clause in my contract specifically saying "no cliche villains". I appreciate you distracting him, by the way. That was getting a little uncomfortable." She said gratefully. I smiled at her as I crossed my arms.

"You're welcome. We've been suspicious of him since we got out of Sycamore's lab, so we decided to tail him to see what he was up to. One would think that your Champion status trumps your acting career as far respect goes." I said, making her chuckle.

"Yes well, sometimes I like it when people just treat me like a normal person, but Lysandre seems…almost fanatical. There's something not right about him." She replied. Vixen cleared her throat at her, drawing the woman's attention.

"Then why are you trusting him to go searching for Yveltal? Do we really want him to get ahold of death incarnate?" Vixen asked. Diantha sighed and gave Vixen an apologetic smile.

"Because I have little choice. He's got the equipment to safely handle the cocoon so that we can transport it to the glade. Besides, with or without my blessing, I just know he'd go searching anyway. At least I can keep tabs on him this way. " She replied. Vixen hummed at Diantha, seemingly impressed, and dipped her respectfully at her.

"You're more clever than I gave you credit for. I apologize for doubting you." She said quietly. I reached out to comfort Vixen, but surprisingly, Diantha beat me to it, grabbing her shoulder and squeezing it gently. Vixen blinked and looked up at her, instantly relaxed by the friendly warmth emanating from the Champion.

"I have heard of you, you are the girl who stopped the second crisis in Unova, aren't you?" She asked, making Vixen blink again.

"I-what? I am but, how do you know about that? My father promised to keep quiet about my involvement in that…." She asked. Diantha laughed and shop her head dismissively at the girl.

"Oh there was no news coverage, no. I found out from Cynthia sometime before your sixteenth birthday." She said. Vixen tilted her head in confusion.

"What?" She asked.

"Cynthia and I are good friends, she asked me for help procuring all of those Dragon Gems, and when I asked why she was going through so much trouble, she told me your story. Say, did you really get to pet her Garchomp?" Diantha replied, ending her explanation with a thoughtful question. Vixen suddenly brightened and began to snicker, bringing her hand up to her mouth to contain her laughter.

"Did I get to pet Garchomp? She wouldn't let me stop! Almost every time I see Cynthia and her Garchomp is out, she just demands petting. She even gave up some scales to help me recover from heat stroke when I met her." Vixen explained. Diantha smiled and shook her head in exasperation, a chuckle bubbling deep in her throat.

"Man, you are really lucky. Garchomp is usually very cranky around me, though I don't know why. It's strange, but anyway, I have to get going, I have one last shoot to do. It was a pleasure meeting you all." She said, bowing at us before briskly walking out of the cafè. We stared after her while the cafè buzzed with talk about the interactions, though thankfully it seemed like they were more focused on the presence of celebrities than on what we were discussing.

"I like her." Celeste said after awhile. Fay trilled in agreement, and I turned to the two of them with a smile.

"She did seem pretty laid back, but she seems to be taking this seriously. What do you think, Vixy?" I asked, turning to her. Vixen seemed to be in deep thought, leaning against Lola while the Hydreigon flapped her wings slowly. I couldn't tell if they were talking or not, because their eyes didn't appear to be glazed over like they normally were in conversation. Vixen blinked and looked up at me in confusion.

"Huh? Sorry I was thinking." She said. I tilted my head at her and blinked.

"I was asking what you thought of Diantha. What's on your mind?" I asked. Vixen bit her lip as she stared past me, not looking at anything in particular.

"I'm, not sure. This whole thing with the legendary pokemon and that Lysandre guy has really gotten to me. I feel like she's not taking it as seriously as she should." Vixen replied. Lola warbled softly at her, nosing her neck gently with her middle snout in a bid to comfort her.

"What else should she do? She's kinda got her hands tied at the moment Vixen." Celeste pointed out. Vixen's eyes darkened dangerously for a moment, but she forced herself to relax.

"With what? Her career? She is supposed to be the highest authority here, right?" Vixen asked.

"Well, yeah that's how it works here. The Champion is more or less the King, or Queen, of Kalos." I confirmed. Vixen's eyes narrowed at my response, nodding curtly.

"Then if running around pretending to be a superhero or whatever is more important than protecting her region, she has no business being the Champion. She has the power to force Lysandre to bend to her will. If she thinks he'd go looking for Yveltal anyway, then she should restrain him in some way to ensure he doesn't. She clearly doesn't trust him, so why pretend she does?" Vixen said, traces of her anger slipping into her hushed voice.

"Because he's the head of the biggest technological company in Kalos, and whether she trusts him or not, the rest of the region does." Celeste replied. I nodded and crossed my arms, looking at Vixen sadly.

"Yeah, Celeste is right. Just because you CAN do something, doesn't mean you should. She'd risk triggering a civil war if she imprisoned one of the region's most respected and influential people based on a hunch. Kalos and Unova have had enough bloodshed, Diantha likely doesn't want to be the one responsible for plunging her people back into all of that again." I explained. Vixen stared at me, her dual-colored eyes boring into mine, and we said nothing else. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she relented.

"Alright. I suppose I can see where she's coming from then. Still doesn't make me feel any better though." Vixen said, sighing in defeat.

"Then I guess you should be prepared if things go as you fear." Said a voice. We snapped up to attention and turned to see who it was, and to our surprise, Siebold was watching us. His bright, blonde hair reflected some of the dim light of the cafè, producing a streak above his eyes that had the appearance of icing or cream. He was clad almost entirely in white, though an apron that was worn under his jacket had a dark-blue outline. He wore an ascot that had the appearance of a Samurott's tail at the base of a tall collar that almost completely obscured the bottom half of his face, from which two, dark-colored eyes peered out.

"It seems we're lucky today, meeting two members of the Kalos league. I'm Vixen, this is Aldith, Celeste, and my Hydreigon, Lola. I heard you are a relatively new member of the Elite Four, how's that going for you?" Vixen asked, sounding more like her old, peppy self. Siebold smiled and bowed to her, crossing his arms behind his back. It was almost sad that the behavior of the cafè patrons didn't change, almost like Siebold wasn't important enough to warrant the gawking that Diantha, or even Vixen generated.

"It is a pleasure to meet you. I admit, I was expecting…more when I became a member of the Elite Four. Not that I'm not grateful that I have time to run my restaurant, but the title seems…empty to me. It's almost insulting, really. I'm supposed to be one of the strongest trainers in the region, and yet my only duty is to screen anyone who wants to challenge the Champion. Er, I apologize. My grievances are not your concern, forgive me." He said, looking away with a blush. Vixen chuckled and reached out to grab his hand, patting it gently.

"It's alright, believe me, no one understands the need for venting more than I do. Besides, I actually agree with you. I mean, back in Unova, it's the Elite Four that actually runs the day to day politics of the region, split between the four of them, and the Champion serves as a balance to that power. Iris's duty is to approve and appoint new members of the Elite Four, and weigh in on major decisions, often being a tie-breaker. Throwing all of that on one person, especially one who doesn't seem to be committed, it doesn't sit well with me." Vixen said. With every word she spoke, Siebold looked more and more excited, and by the end of her spiel, he seemed to be relieved. His body language was just brimming with the joy of his concerns not only being heard, but validated, even if only by the words of a mere apprentice from a different region.

"Yes! Yes you understand my qualms! I was fully prepared to leave everything behind when I joined the Elite Four, and while I was glad at first about being able to continue my culinary dream, I was not happy to learn that "Elite Four" is merely just a prettier way of saying "The Queen's Lackeys". Diantha is trying to shoulder all of this responsibility herself just because it is "Traditional" for the Champion to be the ruler, and she won't hear us out or allow us to help alleviate some of that." He said, narrowing his eyes.

"Why don't you challenge her then? If you and the other Elite Four think she's doing so poorly as Champion, then why not overthrow her? If you did, then you could change the political system to resemble something like Unova's, right?" Vixen asked.

"Yeah, I mean, that's what happened in Sinnoh. Sinnoh also had a Monarchy-type system, and Cynthia didn't like it so she challenged the old Champion, and when she beat him and became the new one, she restructured everything so that everyone who was in the League had some power and control over the region. She's no more powerful politically than a Gym Leader because of this, and it'll be very hard for whoever overthrows her to undo it." Celeste added in. Siebold sighed and shook his head.

"You make it sound easy. You can't be the Champion if you are not the strongest, and as nice as Diantha is, as skewed as her priorities are, she's one heck of a trainer. Her Gardevoir alone is a force to be reckoned with, and the only one of the Elite Four who stands a chance against it refuses to challenge her." He said, still looking angry.

"Why is that? If she's so poor behind the scenes, why not take the chance to overthrow her? Are they afraid of losing their position?" Vixen asked. Siebold laughed and shook his head.

"Look at us, speaking like she is a tyrant. No, she won't kick us out of the castle. She's not mean, she's just frazzled. She's trying her best, but she wants to live in two worlds. She wants to be the Queen of Kalos and an accomplished actress at the same time, but she doesn't understand the demand that both dreams have. There's a reason why Kalos has been a Monarchy for so long, it's just that Diantha isn't committed to it." He explained. We heard the faint scraping of chairs sliding on the floor, and I turned to see Lola pulling chairs towards us. I smiled appreciatively at her as I took one of the chairs from her, sitting down and reaching up to pull Boomer off of my head. I set him in my lap and started rubbing his ears while I considered Siebold's words and what I had seen.

"Yes, I can kinda see that. I mean, she does project authority, but I can tell that she is absolutely wonderful as a person. She's young, not much older than I am. Maybe she'll outgrow this need to be two things at some point." I suggested. Siebold took his seat and leaned back.

"Perhaps, but this probably is not the best time for her to figure it out. With Xerneas and Yveltal's presence, we need a leader, not a child. As for why Wikstrom won't challenge her, it's because of the Knight's Code. His family is descended from the Guard that served the Royal Family of Kalos back when being King or Queen was birthright, not earned. As long as Diantha doesn't turn tyrannical, Wikstom will protect her because that is deeply ingrained into him." He replied.

"You don't know that she isn't though. I may not be comfortable with the decisions she's made about this, but I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, though it's probably because of my own arrogance more than anything." Vixen said, making Siebold blink at her.

"Oh? What do you mean by that? I've been told that you don't have an arrogant bone in your body." He asked. Vixen smirked as she pulled her Master Ball off her belt, expanding it and holding it out to Siebold. He tilted his head at it and took the capsule, turning it over in his hands.

"Careful, he's bigger than the cafè." Vixen said, making Siebold jump and juggle the Master Ball.

"Wh-what?! What's in here?!" He asked. Vixen grinned cheekily as she crossed her arms.

"You didn't hear much about me, did you? Inside that Master Ball is one of the three Legendary Dragons of Unova. When I defeated Team Plasma, Kyurem rewarded me for freeing him from their control by giving himself to me. In addition, I am good friends with Zekrom and Reshiram, and their own trainers as well. When I go home, my mother and I are going to do some research into the Kalos Deities so that if push comes to shove, I can at least rally the three dragons to come help." Vixen said. Siebold stared at her with wide eyes, his hands clasping the Master Ball tightly.

"I, I really appreciate that. I would like for Kalos to solve its own problems, but it wouldn't hurt to have a powerful ally in the event that Yveltal awakens before Xerneas does. I don't think anything but a legendary pokemon could stand up to death itself." He said. Vixen smiled and pulled her bag around, reaching inside for a notepad. She pulled out a pen and scrawled something down, tearing the sheet out and handing it to the rookie Elite Four member.

"I agree, I would stay out of it for the sake of regional pride, but we also need to be realistic here. If, at any point, you think this is too big for a non-legendary pokemon to handle, you can call me and I'll come with Yuyu as fast as I can." She told him. Siebold beamed at her and nodded, returning her Master Ball to her while taking the sheet of paper that had her phone number on it.

"Thank you, I will sleep better knowing that we don't have to rely exclusively on Xerneas for protection. I should return to my restaurant to prepare for the dinner service. It was lovely to meet you all." He said, standing up and bowing to us. With a smile on his face, Siebold turned away and exited the cafè. The three of us sat quietly, listening to the buzz of the cafè while we thought about Siebold's complaints and the situations at hand.

Diantha's handling of Yveltal's potential awakening was indeed worrisome. Even her own Elite Four wasn't entirely sure what to make of this. Siebold seemed to be concerned more about Yveltal than about who Diantha left in charge of finding it, but it still tied into our own fears. Knowing that Vixen would be called in with her legendary companions alleviated our concerns somewhat, but there was still that "What If?" factor that loomed over. I guess the best thing to do right now is wait and see what happens.

In the meantime, my journey continues.

* * *

TBC

I'm so sorry it's been so long since I updated. I had a hectic couple of weeks, not to mention this chapter was being difficult. The excerpt page is like, a quarter of this chapter, there's so much I ended up cutting out XD. In some mild news, I actually installed a new OS on my mac! I purchased and installed OS Lion so that I could play a game I bought on Steam, and with it came some new tools that have made writing easier. For example, I can produce accented letters now by simply holding the letter down, so cafe will now be cafè instead. ^^ I'm still going to keep typing pokemon/pokedex/pokeballs without the accent though since that isn't really necessary and some people don't even notice the accent anyway.

…I just realized something…Celeste is a lot like Carina. Well, fear not, I promise the two are very different in terms of strategy and execution, though they do have the same "obfuscating stupidity" mindset *but for different reasons*.

I'm just as surprised as you are that this turned into what was essentially a political debate. I never thought I would do a chapter that was almost entirely an analysis of the politics of pokemon and the regions in it.

So, who here is excited for the obligatory clash of the titans? I mean, there's no way you didn't see this coming lol. I gave my first protagonist a living nuke, there's no way she's NOT going to use it. ;D

Okay, so we're gonna get one more Lumiose chapter and then we'll head on out. I apologize for the lengthy wait of this chapter, but I'll do my best to get back on schedule. ^^

See you in 17!


	18. Chapter 17: Wishes of the Heart

So, it was finally time.

The three of us stood in front of the train, watching people file inside of it. I held Romeo's tail in one hand while I gripped Vixen's hand tightly in the other. Celeste stood behind us a fair distance away, giving us some semblance of privacy. The train's whistle blared through the platform, urging its passengers to board.

"I'm gonna miss you guys." I said without looking away. Vixen tightened her grip on my hand while Romeo's tail twitched slightly.

"Yeah, we'll miss you too. It's gonna be weird, seeing Romeo around the tower knowing you aren't nearby. That'll take some getting used to." Vixen replied. Romeo let out a purring chuckle as he leaned into my legs, brushing up against them.

"Liiiie." He said, confirming with Vixen. I grinned as I released his tail and reached down to scratch his head.

"I have a feeling you'll miss me more than he will. He might be too distracted by Liepard to really notice, right, Romeo?" I teased. Romeo stiffened and hissed at me, turning away with a huff while Vixen and I laughed.

"Last call for Coumarine City! Allllll aboard!" Cried the conductor hanging out of the middle of the train. I inhaled deeply as Vixen pulled away from my hand, moving to hug me tightly instead while Romeo leaned back into us.

"Take care of yourself, okay? Just because I'm not with you, that doesn't mean you can't have fun, alright?" Vixen said. I knelt down and hugged her and Romeo tightly, resting my head on hers and nodding.

"Yeah, I'll be okay. Don't worry about me, I promise I'll be fine." I told her. Another pair of arms wrapped around us, and I saw Celeste hugging us with a warm smile.

"What am I, chopped liver? Honey, I'm an entertainer. Making people happy is like, my creed, mkay? I guarantee Aldith will never have time to be sad when I'm around." She said, making me and Vixen laugh. The train whistled again, and Vixen and Romeo reluctantly pulled away. Doors began closing on the train, and the two of them had to rush over to get onto the train, running into the doors in front of us just before they closed. I stared at the train forlornly, holding back my tears as best as I could in case Vixen was watching. One of the windows next to the doors they went through opened up, and Vixen and Romeo's heads popped out. Wriggling around, Vixen and Romeo were able to get one forearm out each, and they started waving at us as the train started to pull away.

"Goodbye! Take care you two!"

"Liiiiie!" The two of them yelled. Celeste and I waved at them, and as the train moved further out we began running with it so that we could keep them in our sights. We reached the end of the platform, and when the train was completely out of the station, we stopped waving. Vixen and Romeo disappeared back inside the window, and they were gone.

Everything fell silent around me as I stood there and watched the train get farther and farther away. I felt like it had taken a piece of my heart with it, and it hurt. That little girl gave me so much strength, the courage to leave the toxic lifestyle I lived and face my past, it was kind of scary to think about what I was going to do now that she was gone.

'_That strength is still there, even though she is not. You are not alone._' It was that voice again! I took a sharp breath and squeezed my eyes shut.

'_Who are you?!_' I thought as hard as I could. I waited for a minute, but I never got a response. I sighed in frustration and stopped concentrating so hard, and that is when I noticed a pressure on my shoulder.

"Aldith?! Aldith are you okay?" Celeste said, sounding almost concerned. I blinked and turned to look at her, allowing a small smile onto my face.

"Sorry, I'm fine. I'm just, it already hurts." I said. Celeste smiled and reached out to me, grabbing one of my pokeballs off my belt. She threw it up, and Sabrina emerged in between us, blinking in confusion.

"Hug your pokemon, it helps a lot. When my pokemon left me, and all I had was Angie, hugging her tightly and rubbing my face in her wool made everything okay again. I mean, it's still not okay that that happened, but when it starts to get to me, I just let her out and hug her, and then I feel better." She said, her voice becoming strained. I blinked as I reached out to Sabrina, her paw reaching out to me and connecting with my hand. I rubbed my thumb over the soft fur on the back of her paw, and I tilted my head at Celeste.

"Celeste, what happened to you?" I asked. She bit her lip and gripped her hands behind her back.

"Can we go somewhere a little less, crowded?" She asked. I smiled at her and nodded, grabbing her hand.

"Alright, I think I saw a cafè across the street when we came here." I told her. I pulled her and Sabrina through the crowd, and we silently made our way back outside. We saw a dark green building across the street with the words "Cafè Bataille" emblazoned over the top of it. We watched the traffic drive by, waiting for it to slow enough for us to cross, and we dashed quickly over to the cafè. Walking inside, we found it was not nearly as crowded as Cafè Soleil had been, but it was a pretty sizable space.

I let Celeste take the lead, and she took us over to a table in the back. It was surrounded by two empty tables, which would give us a little privacy since it would be awkward for anyone to sit in the neighboring tables. She took the seat closest to the wall while I sat across from her, and Sabrina took the seat on my right in between us. We sat in an uncomfortable silence while the few patrons in the cafè had heated conversions about battle strategies.

"I, I'm not really comfortable with this, but you were right. I gotta get it out eventually. You've trusted me with some of the less than stellar parts of your past, I owe you the same. Remember how I told you about the poaching scandal in Sinnoh?" She asked. I tilted my head at her and nodded, crossing my arms on the table to lean on them.

"Yes, you said that poachers were going to protected reserves and stealing pokemon, and then selling them to coordinators under the cover of being breeders. You got one of those, didn't you?" I asked. Celeste chuckled hollowly and nodded, pulling a pokeball up and setting it down.

"Yep. Believe it or not, Angora was one of the many pokemon who were kidnapped in this poaching ring. She was taken from a ranch in Unova. I didn't know this at first, but when someone blew the whistle, Angora told us that she was poached." She said, making my eyes widen.

"What? But, how?" I asked.

"She kept gesturing to the TV and then to herself when the news came on. When we realized it, my pokemon….well, let's just say they didn't like this scandal any more than anyone else did. I was horrified by the discovery that the cute little Mareep I had bought was stolen from her family. My pokemon were disgusted that their trainer would be a part of the poaching ring." She continued. I furrowed my brow and gave her a suspicious stare.

"You knew Angora was poached?" I asked. Celeste's eyes widened and she shook her head rapidly, waving her hands in front of her.

"No no no! I swear I didn't know! I just saw this sad-looking Mareep in a store window, and you know how I hate seeing someone sad. I went in and the shop owner swore up and down that there was nothing wrong with her, and gave me papers and everything, so I bought her and took her home. It took me a long time, but I was able to cheer her up and get her out of her shell, and started training her to perform. It was about that time that the news broke out." She said, her eyes glossing over slightly as she thought back. I looked over at Sabrina, who looked like she really wanted to help, but didn't know how.

"Sabrina, can you go get us something to drink? Like some soda or tea? Anything not diet will do." I asked. The Braixen nodded and hopped out of her seat, and I gave her my purse. She padded away quickly while I turned back to Celeste.

"They, didn't believe me. I tried to tell them that I didn't know that Angie was poached, but my pokemon were so _angry._ Even Triton nearly sliced me when I got too close. I, I begged them to believe me, but one by one, my pokemon decided that their reputation and career was more important than I was. They took their pokeballs away from me and sought other, "more reputable" coordinators instead. They all abandoned me…Except one." She said, leaning over and burying her face in her hands. The pokeball on the table wiggled around, popping open suddenly. Angora leapt out of the light and was at Celeste's side in an instant, the bauble on her tail flashing wildly.

"Flaa." She bleated, grabbing Celeste's arm and pulling with a worried look on her face. Shaking her head, Celeste rounded on the Flaaffy, pulling her into a tight hug. She yelped from a small shock, but kept a near death grip on the poor thing and sobbed quietly into her neck wool. I frowned and reached out to her, only to be stopped by a flaming stick. I turned to see Sabrina holding a tray with three iced teas in one paw, using the other to hold her wand to stop me.

"Braixen." She said quietly, shaking her head. I sighed and nodded at her, pulling my hand away and grabbing the drinks instead. I looked helplessly at Celeste, wanting so badly to stop the wracking of her shoulders. Seeing someone who I knew to be so upbeat and cheerful looking like this, it was just wrong. With a lack of any better ideas, I just slid her tea over to her in a silent gesture that I was here for her, and waited.

After a few minutes, though it seemed like a few hours, her crying slowed, and she pulled away slowly from Angora. I reached into my purse and pulled out a travel pack of tissues, opening it up and holding it out to her. She took it with a sniffle and pulled a couple out, blowing her nose into one while she used the other to try and clean Angora's wool.

"Sorry." She croaked, though I couldn't tell if she was apologizing to me for breaking down, or Angora for crying onto her wool.

"It's alright Celeste, it's good to let it out. You'll feel much better in the long run." I told her. She looked at me with puffy, red eyes and chuckled, nodding at me.

"Yeah, I know. I just, I've never told anyone before. I, I never really faced this before, and I was doing pretty good about burying it right up until Sasha had that period of disobeying me. When she defied my commands, it, it reminded me that all of my pokemon were just using me. I wasn't their friend, I was their coach, a means to an end, and when my position got compromised, it jeopardized their careers. It didn't matter whether I KNEW Angora was poached or not, the fact of the matter is that she was, and I bought her, and I was a blemish on their squeaky clean records that needed to be cut away." She said, balling up her tissues and grabbing her drink. She took a nice, long sip from it and shuddered, calming herself down.

"Sasha's not like that though, if anything, she's a lot like you. She's impulsive, stubborn, and strong-willed. She trusts you though, and deep down, I bet she cares about you." I told her. A small smile appeared on her lips, and she nodded slowly as she took another swig of her tea.

"I know it was just, I had buried that for so long, and then Sasha reminded me so vividly of what happened. I know she didn't mean to, but I just, I left that all behind for a reason. Nothing in pokemon contests are real. Sure, it's all smiles and love and friendship on stage, but when the curtains have lowered and the contest has ended, it's all just a sham. I left that behind because I wanted real friends, people who cared about me, not about what I could do for them. People like you and Shauna and Vixen." She said, smiling warmly at me. I smiled back and sipped my tea, looking at Angora.

"So, how come you don't hold it against her? You understand that she didn't know or what?" I asked the Flaaffy. Angora beamed at me and nodded, pointing at herself before standing up on the tips of her toes, putting her hands on Celeste's face and pulling at her lips to make her smile.

"Flaaffy." She said, letting Celeste go and leaning back against her. Celeste closed her eyes and put an arm around her pokemon, hugging her tightly.

"I see. She's right though, no one who puts that much work into making a miserable pokemon happy again would do anything wrong intentionally. Like you said, Triton and the others were jerks. What's important is that you DO have real friends now, and I am really glad you shared this with me." I told her. Celeste smiled at me and chuckled, taking another sip from her glass while Sabrina passed her glass over to Angora.

"I know, it was just, kinda hard. I mean, Triton was my first pokemon ever, and Spike was my first capture. All of my pokemon, I worked so hard with them and trusted them, but none of that mattered. It didn't matter to Tina that I thought she was just as beautiful when she was a Feebas as she was a Milotic. Glimmer, my Beautifly, I put in a lot of work every day to keep her wings clean. And Icarus, heh, that Staraptor was a nut, and none of his appeals went the way I wanted. I used him as a wildcard to impress the judges." She said, her eyes glazing over as she thought back fondly. The smile on her face faded though, and she came out of the trance with a melancholy air. I frowned and reached across the table to ensnare her hand in mine, giving it a firm squeeze.

"It's going to be alright, Celeste. Maybe the pokemon you started with didn't turn out the way you wanted, but not all of them are like that. Angora certainly isn't, and if you were paying attention, you'd have noticed that even Sabrina was worried about you. We can't change the past, but we can shape our future, you just have to be willing to." I told her. Celeste smiled at me and squeezed my hand back, bobbing her head.

"Yeah, I'll be okay. It still hurts, but time heals all wounds, and the more time I spend with you and our pokemon, and the more I hear that voice, the better I feel. I mean, I hadn't even had the courage to really look at all of my old tools until you and Vixen asked about them. Maybe the contest circuit was fake, but all that I had accomplished in my time as a coordinator was real. I'm still proud of my old victories, because whether they want to accept it or not, I worked just as hard for those ribbons as they did. I just need to remember all of the good times I had, not just the bad ones." She said. I smiled at her and nodded, keeping my hold on her hand while I sipped my tea with the other.

Over the next hour or so, Celeste and I just talked. Now that she had told me about the thing that was eating away at her, it was much easier for her to talk about the rest of her past. She told me about her first contests, her captures, rivalries and friendships. For my part, I explained what Team Plasma was and why I had gotten involved in it, and why I stayed even after their nasty true nature surfaced. Sabrina and Angora had to run back to the bar every so often to get more drinks for us, but other than that they stayed out of the conversation knowing that it was important for me and Celeste to learn about each other. By the time Celeste and I ran out of stuff to talk about, it had gotten dark outside, and there were a few more people in the cafè than when we had come in.

"Wow, how time flies." Celeste mused, leaning back in her chair while she sipped her fifth glass of iced tea.

"No kidding, we might wanna go find a place to stay the night. Might not be such a good idea for two girls to wander around a big city like this at night." I said, sipping my tea somewhat nervously.

"What are you so worried about? You're an ex-con who can tackle even a Scolipede, right?" She asked, making my eye twitch.

"I was never convicted of anything, Carina gave me a pardon for my activities in the first Team Plasma. And while I CAN fight off ONE Scolipede, I would have my hands full with a couple of muggers. I only barely survived that fight with the Pyroar, and it was only because I had help." I said. Celeste giggled at me, downing the rest of her tea and sighing happily.

"That was good! And ha, you're such a worrywart. Alright, if you're done, we can go try and find a hotel or something. You know this place better than I do, so when you're ready, I'll follow you." She said. I sighed in exasperation as I turned to my glass, finishing my tea quickly. We both stood up from the table and stretched, suddenly feeling kinda tired, before taking our glasses over to the bar. After thanking the barista, Celeste and I made it out of the cafè and started to look around.

"Y'know, I can tell you how to get to the train station from anywhere in the city, but I don't think I know where any hotels are, aside from that one five star hotel, but we'd need Vixen to be able to stay there." I said, frowning in contemplation.

"Well, there's still a LITTLE daylight left, maybe if we wander long enough we can find one?" Celeste asked. I shook my head and crossed my arms.

"No, we don't need to get MORE lost. I'd almost think about hailing a cab, except I just know he'd pick the farthest hotel on the longest route." I said bitterly.

"Goaaat." Bleated a soft voice. Celeste and I jumped at the sound and looked to see a Gogoat walking calmly toward us, a red saddle shifting around on its back while a bag bounced on its chest. Celeste made a curious sound and pulled up her pokedex, scanning the docile pokemon.

"_Gogoat, the Mount pokemon, and the evolution of Skiddo. Gogoat are empathic pokemon, and use their horns to sense the feelings of whoever grips them. Wild Gogoat use this ability to sync with their herds and move as one being, while tamed Gogoat prefer using this ability to keep their trainers happy, making them excellent service pokemon._" The pokedex said. Celeste made an impressed sound as she put her pokedex away, and Gogoat stopped in front of us.

"Hey there buddy, you lost?" I asked it. Gogoat watched us with carefully and shook its head slowly, a vine appearing from its neck. The vine reached inside the bag, pulling out a pamphlet of some sort and holding it out to us. Tilting my head curiously, I took the pamphlet and opened it up, reading the contents. "_Gogoat Shuttle Service, a therapeutic way to travel!_" It read at the top.

"Oooo he's a poke-cabbie! Can we ride it, pleeeeease?" Celeste asked. I pushed her off and read the pamphlet to figure out what this shuttle service was about.

"_The Gogoat Shuttle Service offers a safe way of traversing Lumiose City while giving the riders the full experience. The Gogoat employed here are donated by trainers who have made them very strong to protect their riders, and they are taught routes according to their saddles. Gogoats with red saddles will always take the fastest route to their destinations, while Gogoats with blue saddles take the most scenic. No matter which you prefer, your Gogoat will do its best to accommodate you and keep you safe._

_The best part is, the rate is all the same! For the low price of two hundred poke, you may go anywhere you want in a sector of Lumiose City, though you will have to pay an extra one hundred if you want to go from one sector to another. The Gogoat Shuttle Service divides Lumiose into only two, the North Sector and the South._" I read out loud. I smiled as I folded the pamphlet back up and knelt down to put it back into Gogoat's pouch, stroking it's nose gently.

"Pleeeeeeease? Can we ride him?! I wanna ride so bad!" Celeste begged. I laughed as I fished through my purse, checking to see how much money I had.

"Alright, alright, this is a good idea. So, if I remember right, we're in North Lumiose, and if we wanna get to Camphrier Town we need to go to South Lumiose, so that'll be three hundred poke each, right?" I asked Gogoat.

"Goat." He bleated softly, nodding at me.

"Alright, can you carry both of us? Or do we have to wait for you to call backup?" I asked. Gogoat hummed and moved closer to us, gesturing to its back in a way that suggested we'd be okay. With a smile, I turned to Celeste and nodded, reaching for my pokeball to recall Sabrina.

"YAY! Okay so wait, three hundred right? Here I'll pay for my half, at least. Oh! Um, Angie, return!" She said, recalling her Flaaffy while I brought back Sabrina. We dug through our bags and procured the money Gogoat had asked, which it took and put into its bag. Satisfied with the money, Gogoat knelt down, waiting for me and Celeste to mount him. I approached first, swinging my leg over and adjusting myself on his back, while Celeste clambered on behind me. She wrapped her arms around my waist, and when we got comfortable, I reached out and grabbed the tips of his horns, making Gogoat stand up quickly and fluidly.

"Alright Gogoat, since you heard us say three hundred, you know we want to go south. Can you find us a hotel that will be close to where we need to go to get to Camphrier Town?" I asked. Gogoat bleated softly, nodding ever so gently, as he took off at a trot, me and Celeste bouncing a bit on his back.

"Hmm, Mister Gogoat, since your saddle is red, that means you're fast right? Go at whatever pace you'd like please." Celeste called. Gogoat bleated again, and this time he took off at a gallop, Celeste and I hanging on while he darted into alleyways. The city passed by in a blur, and only a few minutes went by before Gogoat stopped, standing in front of a building with a sign reading "Fast Five Motel". On it's right, there was a large gate with the number five standing prominently above it. I smiled as I pried Celeste's arms from my waist, the both of us dismounting Gogoat.

"Thanks for the ride, this took a lot of anxiety and frustration out of it. Do you take tips?" I asked. Gogoat nodded and lifted his head up, and I reached into my bag to pull out another hundred poke, while Celeste did the same.

"That was super fast! How exciting! That was so much fun, Gogoat! Thank you so much!" She said excitedly, putting some poke into his bag. I chuckled and put my money in as well, giving his neck a scratch. He lowered his head and shook it a bit, nodding to us before trotting away.

"Somehow, I feel like the cab company in Lumiose is a bit more honest than I initially thought." I mused, walking over to the motel.

"Ha! Yeah, if they stand a chance against the Gogoat company, they will need to actually respect their fares. We have GOT to train Gogoat for the company sometime. I mean, not only do we get a ride, but we get to choose what route to take AND our driver will protect us, there's just no competing with that!" Celeste said excitedly. I chuckled and held the door open, allowing Celeste to go through first before walking into the building myself. Though it was just a motel, it was every bit as neat and tidy as any hotel as far as I could tell. Even the clerk at the counter looked like he was happy to be here, and he nodded to us.

"Greetings, girls. Welcome to Fast Five, would you like a room?" He asked. I opened my mouth to reply, but Celeste pushed me back and charged up to the counter.

"Yepyep! We would like a room with a single queen and a bathroom, and we'd like to be able to have our seven small to medium pokemon out to give them dinner." She said, making me blink. The Clerk laughed warmly and began to type away at his computer.

"Well, you certainly know how this works. I assume you've had trouble with some seedy motels in the past?" He asked. Celeste hummed and crossed her arms.

"Not that there's anything you can do about it, but yeah. When I was in contests and doing a lot of traveling, I tried to stay at motels to save some money, but if there wasn't one thing wrong it was another." She said, sounding somewhat annoyed. The clerk hummed as he nodded understandingly at her.

"Yes, unfortunately you do sacrifice some quality in order to save money, but that's no excuse to ignore health and hospitality codes. The Fast franchise especially can't afford to do such a thing since our proximity to gates means there are quite a few travelers, and many of them are esteemed. If we mistreat the wrong customer, it could bring the whole company down, but as we are quite popular for those who just need a place to rest, we have the money to hire employees who care about our tenants like any hotel would. And speaking of which, unfortunately, we're mostly booked up, however we do have one room on the top floor that has two beds, a bathroom, a balcony, a basic cable television, and a small, but functional kitchen. I can charge you the basic room rate for it, but only for one night, is that alright?" He said, looking away from the screen to watch us hopefully. Celeste hummed in satisfaction and nodded, reaching into her purse.

"That's fine, we only need tonight anyway." She said. After talking a little bit more, the money exchanging hands, the man handed Celeste a keycard and told us where our room was. We stepped into the elevator and rode it up to the top floor, briskly walking over to our room. After struggling with the card a bit, we managed to open the door on the fifth swipe.

"Okay, for the duration of our stay here, there has to be at least one person inside the room at all times. I am not going to fight with that key every time we need to get ice or something." I said in annoyance. Celeste snorted as she tossed her bag over on her bed, flopping down on it with a sigh.

"Oh this is so comfy. Yes, I don't want to fumble with that key either. So, do we wanna try and find a restaurant around here, or should we just cook something up ourselves?" She asked. I smiled at her as I walked over to some large curtains in the back of the room, pulling them open to see the balcony.

"Dang, Celeste get up. Look at the view, I can't believe we got the basic rate for this." I said in amazement. Celeste groaned behind me, but after a few seconds, she came up behind me and gasped.

We weren't high up enough to get over most of the buildings, but we were positioned so that we could see between a couple of them, and most importantly, we could see Prism Tower. It shined brightly against the darkness of the night, filling all of the streets with its glow in some way. I could see some forms flying around it, though I couldn't tell what they were.

"Wow, Aldith this is going to keep us up all night, ha." Celeste said in amusement. I chuckled as I readjusted the curtains, turning to walk over to my bed.

"I think we'll be fine as long as we keep the curtains closed. I mean, the locals manage to get some sleep even with that going on, I don't see why we can't. Ready to let the pokemon out?" I asked, plucking all of my pokeballs off my belt.

"Hmm? Yeah sure, just a sec." She said, running over to her bed. I rolled my eyes as I held all of my pokeballs out of front of me, releasing each of my pokemon one at a time until they were all in front of me.

"Hey guys, we're resting for the night, so feel free to do whatever you like, but stay in here or on the balcony, okay?" I told them. Except for Lavier, my pokemon chirped in confirmation, and they all went off to do their own thing. Sabrina went and sat down in a corner, crossing her legs and closing her eyes to meditate, while Nylass leapt onto the bed and laid down beside me. Boomer squeaked and waited for Sasha to be released, and when she was, they both flew over to the doors of the balcony, which Angora opened for them. Celeste giggled, and I looked to see she was sitting stiffly on the bed while Fay floated behind her, styling her hair again.

"Fay, do you take requests? I'd kinda like something that I'll be able to sleep on, but we'll be eating soon, so I don't want it getting in my food." She asked. Fay chirped at her, but what caught my attention was the way Lavier stared at Celeste when she mentioned food. I tilted my head at the Charmeleon, and leaned down closer to him.

"Hey buddy, you hungry?" I asked. Lavier turned to me with an unreadable expression, his collar bouncing on his neck. I blinked at him, trying to figure out what he wanted, but he did nothing to answer me. With a sigh, I reached over to my bag and opened it up. When I started digging in the food pocket, Lavier leaned in closer and stared intently at my hands.

"What's with your Charmeleon? Did they starve him or something?" Celeste asked. I blinked at him, trying to pull away, but Lavier just leaned in more.

"I have no idea, what are you doing, Lavier?" I asked. He hummed low in his throat, and I felt something prickle in my mind.

"Braix? Braixen?" Sabrina said suddenly, walking over to us. Lavier snapped out of it and looked at her, narrowing his eyes.

"Charmeleon. Char char?" He said to her. She smiled and turned to me, reaching back and pulling her wand out of her tail. She held it up between us and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. She held her other paw up in front of the flame, and the fire started dancing a bit while her eyes glowed.

"What are-?" I started, only for her eyes to stop glowing and her fire to sputter a bit. She gritted her teeth and gave me an annoyed look, putting her paw to her mouth in a "be quiet!" gesture. I nodded and stayed silent, watching her as she started again. Her fire danced slowly on the stick, and her eyes started to glow again. She carefully stretched her wand closer to me, waving it slowly, and the world became a bright white. I gasped, but continued to be quiet as the white slowly melted into an image, a still picture of Lavier. He was wearing an apron and a tall chef's hat, and he had a frying pan clasped tightly in one of his claws while he breathed fire underneath it. Despite the fire breathing, I saw a big smile on his face, a joyful glint in his eyes. The picture faded away, and soon, the white world did too. I groaned and held my head, squeezing my eyes shut, and I heard Sabrina groan in front of me.

"Are you guys alright? What just happened?" Celeste asked, sounding slightly worried. I opened my eyes and saw Sabrina clutching her head, her wand held against the side of her head. She slowly opened her eyes and watched me carefully, pulling her wand away from her head and returning it to her tail.

"I…I'm not sure. Everything got white, and then I saw a picture of Lavier dressed like a chef." I explained. Lavier made a coughing sound, and when I turned my attention to him I saw him looking at me excitedly, his tail lashing about wildly.

"Char! Charmeleon!" He said, leaning close to me and looking at me hopefully. I blinked at him and tilted my head.

"You, want to cook?" I asked. Lavier grinned and nodded his head so quickly, I worried he'd get dizzy. I blinked again and looked at Sabrina, who looked like she was almost fully recovered from the experience.

"How did you do that? I, are we that close already?" I asked. Sabrina smiled and shook her head, pulling her wand out again and pointing to it.

"Well, she's going to evolve into a Psychic-Type at some point. Maybe she's trying to develop her psychic powers? Ooo can you do magic, Sabrina!?" Celeste asked excitedly. Sabrina gave her a deadpan look, rolling her eyes and returning her wand to her tail.

"I don't think so, but you might be on the right track. A lot of Psychic attacks and abilities revolve around the mind. So, Lavier, you want to be a chef?" I said, looking at my Charmeleon. His eyes seemed to sparkle, and he was almost like a completely different pokemon. I smiled at him and pulled my bag back over, looking inside of it.

"Char?" He asked curiously.

"I wanna see what you can do. Wanna make a casserole?" I asked. Lavier grinned and nodded furiously, and I beamed back at him as I stood up.

"Ew, a casserole? Come on Aldith, we can do better than that." Celeste said, making a gagging sound. I shot a glare at her, ushering Lavier to the small kitchen.

"Hush, for your information, some casseroles are actually pretty good, and what I have in mind will be able to feed all of us." I told her. Celeste pouted and laid back in her bed, but when I turned away I heard the TV turn on behind us. I sighed as I set my purse on the counter.

"Char." Lavier said, nudging me out of the way. I raised a brow at him, but moved anyway, and was surprised when he stood up on the tips of his toes, reaching into the sink. Before I could stop him, he turned the water on and started washing his claws. Though he noticeably winced, Lavier scrubbed his claws thoroughly, and he did not stop until all of the soap was rinsed off. He turned the water off and shook his arms, shaking some of the water off.

"A fire type who is willing to get wet….You're serious about this chef thing, aren't you?" I asked incredulously. Lavier shot a pointed look at me as he grabbed his collar, pulling it off and handing it to me.

"Char." He said quietly. I chuckled and took his collar, putting it into another pocket in my purse for the moment, spinning the dial back to my kitchen supplies.

"Alright alright, no need to get huffy. So, if what Sabrina showed me is correct, we'll need to teach you Flamethrower at some point, which is more than possible. You already know Ember, and it's not that big a leap to turn that into Flamethrower. For now, we'll work with what we've got, which is why I'm going to teach you this potato and meat casserole that I taught myself how to make, alright?" I asked, setting out some of the dishes we would use. Lavier nodded and waited for my instruction. With a nod, I pulled out a small roast and set it on a cutting board that I had laid out, holding the entire set out to him.

"Okay, first, I need you to slice this into small strips, maybe one by three by a half inch. Can you manage that? Here's a knife." I said. He stared at the knife I offered for a moment, snorting and turning away from it, setting the cutting board over on a table behind us. To my amazement, he began slicing the meat with his own claws, cutting the strips perfectly to what I assumed were my specifications.

"Crap, you're more skilled with your claws than I ever was with a knife. You'll have to wash up again when you are done though, it's called cross-contamination." I told him. He continued to cut away, but I saw his head bob up and down.

"Meleon." He said dismissively. I smiled as I turned to the pitiful stove beside me, and I frowned at it.

"You know what? Flamethrower is going to be our first project together. You good with that?" I asked, grabbing a small pot and filling it with water from the sink.

"Charmeleon." Lavier replied in a tone that suggested he agreed. I set the pot on the stove and began heating the water, and while I waited for that I dug through my purse to find a box of mashed potato mix.

"There we go, this'll do. How are you coming, pal?" I asked. Lavier turned and grinned at me, showing he was more than halfway through with his task. He looked at my hand that held the box, and glared fiercely at it.

"Charmeleon?! Char char!" He snapped angrily. I blinked at him and looked at the box, turning back to him.

"What, you wanted real potatoes?" I asked. He gave me a pointed look and nodded, turning back to the meat and resuming his slicing.

"Sorry buddy, this was just, more convenient. Um, the veggies I'll cook for this will also be frozen. I'll get you fresh ingredients next time, okay?" I asked. Lavier snorted, but made a disgruntled sound that told me he was okay with that. With that small bump out of the way, I went back to preparing my mashed potatoes, mixing them in a separate bowl while I waited for my pot to boil.

"Char." Lavier chirped. I turned around to see he had finished slicing the roast, and I smiled at him, pointing to the skillet I set out.

"Alright, after you wash up again, go ahead and throw that into the skillet with some salt. It doesn't take very much, because we're going to add something to the whole batch. I warn you, what we're making isn't necessarily the, prettiest looking thing, but it is pretty balanced, and it got me through a lot of my days in Castelia before I got mixed up in Team Plasma." I explained. Lavier snorted and dumped the sliced meat into the skillet, setting the cutting board in the sink and then washing his claws again. Again, he winced from the water, but he was dedicated to sanitizing his claws, and when he finished, he reached over and grabbed a box of salt I had set out. Opening the spout ever so slightly, and gave it a couple of shakes over the skillet before setting it back down, grabbing the skillet and twisting his upper body.

"Char?" He asked, gesturing to his tail flame with the skillet. I blinked a couple of times at him, stopping what I was doing for a moment.

"Uh, yeah we do need to brown it, if you are more comfortable doing it like that, be my guest." I said. Lavier smiled and shifted his focus to his tail. I watched the flame flare up for a moment, the bottom of it turning slightly blue, before it calmed down. Satisfied that it was the perfect temperature, Lavier held the skillet over his flame just enough to displace it a little. He shook it ever so slightly, trying to keep the meat from charring to the bottom, and I reached into my bag, pulling out a pair of tongs. I held them out to him without a word, and he took them gratefully while I focused on my task. By this point, the water was starting to simmer, and I left my potatoes alone to grab the frozen vegetables out, opening the bag and carefully putting half of the chunk of frozen vegetables into the water. I gave them a small stir to help them separate, and then turned my attention back to the potatoes. At this point, they were all mixed through, and ready for me to add stuff to them. I looked at Lavier to see if he was ready to listen to me, but seeing the focus on his face as he cooked the meat made me decide against disturbing him, instead checking on my vegetables to see how warm they were.

"Charmeleon." He said suddenly, and I looked to see he had pulled the skillet off of his tail. A quick glance told me that the strips were perfectly cooked, and I made an impressed hum.

"Good work, alright, so now we get to the actual casserole part. Have you ever heard of a sauce called Au Jus?" I asked. Lavier narrowed his eyes curiously at me, shaking his head. I smiled at him and nodded, reaching into my bag.

"That's alright, it's kind of obscure in places. The term comes from ancient Kalosian language, where it means "With it's own juice.". Traditional Au Jus comes from the food you are preparing as it is being cooked, but Unovan recipes prepare it separately as more of a gravy, using things like soy sauce. I use an Au Jus packet prepared Unovan style for this, because it has more of a beef flavor that infuses with the potatoes and vegetables more. So, give me just a moment." I said, setting my packet down and grabbing a colander out. I set the colander in the sink and took the pot off of the stove, moving it carefully over to the sink and pouring it into the colander to strain the water out. When everything was in, I set the pot back on the stove and grabbed the casserole dish I had set out. I quickly scooped my potatoes into it, followed by the vegetables, and then started mixing them together.

"Char?" Lavier asked, waving the skillet in my direction.

"Not yet, let me get the au jus in." I told him, grabbing the packet and tearing it open. I dumped the contents over the mixture, stirring it in as best as I could to get the clumps out. I stepped to the side to give Lavier room, and he dumped the meat into it, stepping away to let me back over it. I began to stir the meat in, and when I felt everything was mixed through, I glanced at the stove, turning to Lavier.

"I don't trust the oven, is there a way for you to cook this? We just need it warmed through, and brown the top a bit." I asked. Lavier nodded and held his claws out to me, and I handed the casserole dish over to him. I watched in fascination as he pulled his tail between his legs, lifting the tip under the casserole dish, but not quite touching the glass with the flame. He slowly moved the flame around the dish, moving one side, across the bottom, to the other, using the glass as a heating element. He concentrated hard on the dish, trying to stay absolutely focused, as though he were waiting for something. After a couple of minutes of this, he cracked open his mouth, lowering the casserole into the sink and tilting it a bit. He carefully breathed out some small flames that danced across the top of the dish, scorching it slightly to brown the top. He closed his mouth and nodded, pulling the dish out and presenting it to me with a smirk. Maybe it wasn't his idea of a dinner, but I'll be damned if he didn't look proud of it.

He set the casserole on the stove and began to dish it out as I held out plates to him, which I brought out into the room systematically. It didn't take us long to serve everyone, and by the time Lavier and I brought our own meals out, everyone else was already enjoying it.

"I take it back, this is pretty good. Did he do this all himself?" Celeste asked as she grabbed another forkful.

"Most of it, he pretty much did all of the cooking. I made the potatoes, warmed the veggies, and stirred them in with the sauce mix, but he prepared the meat and heated it all together. I think the next time we make our own food, we'll let Lavier experiment and figure out what he wants to cook for us. Sound good to you?" I said, turning to my Charmeleon. He smirked as he took a bite of his food, and I had a feeling he didn't have a problem with that at all.

After dinner, I volunteered to take care of the dishes myself. Lavier and Celeste both tried to offer their help, but I made them stay in the room to enjoy themselves. Besides, it gave me a chance to really process the day's events. So much happened today that I didn't really have time to digest it all until now.

I mean, getting a pokemon that I was supposed to mega evolve, meeting members of the pokemon league, saying goodbye to Vixen, learning that my starter was dabbling in a power that could be compared to magic? It was a lot to take in.

But I could take it all in stride.

* * *

TBC

And so, Vixen went home, and we are not going to see her again for a long while. I miss her already D|

That recipe I described is not to be taken seriously. I made that once and it was okay, and fun to make, but you are better off using real potatoes, fresh veggies, and maybe a fancier cut of meat than just a roast. This is just something I made because I didn't have a better idea on what to do for dinner, and I wanted something that was a little balanced. It was kinda tasty though ^^.

So, Sabrina can use a form of telepathy, and Lavier wants to be a professional chef. The thing with Lavier actually kinda came up randomly during my initial play through of Y, but Sabrina's telepathic abilities is something else entirely. It's not magic, per say, but it's also not Aldith's Affinity. I feel like being able to manipulate energies and project thoughts is something that a pokemon based on witches should be able to do. I'll explain this more in-depth later XD. If you don't want to wait though, feel free to ask me about it and I'll be happy to spell it out better ^^.

In the meantime, I'll be working on 18.

POST UPLOAD: Oh my god, I had the hardest time getting this chapter up. It wouldn't let me upload the file for some reason, and I tried the copy/paste method...yeah no, screw that. This did not need to be as hard as it was, FF. It really didn't.


	19. Chapter 18: What is Fate?

The next morning, I was woken up by the smell of something amazing.

I groaned as I struggled to wake up, trying to figure out what the smell was. I heard the sound of sizzling and clanking, and I raised my hands up to rub the sleep out of my eyes.

"Hnnn, what are you doing, Aldith? That smells so good." Celeste moaned next to me. I opened my eyes to see her sitting up and stretching her arms. I smiled at her for a moment, looking around to figure out what we were smelling.

To my surprise, I found Lavier in the kitchen. He held the skillet from last nights dinner over his tail flame, and the sizzling was coming from it. Every so often, he would look away from the skillet to bark orders at Sabrina or Nylass, who were also in the kitchen working on their own projects. Sabrina was at the stove, stirring something carefully in a saucepan, while Nylass sat on the small table behind her, holding a round cake pan on her head with her paws. At Lavier's direction, Sabrina sped up her stirring while Nylass squeezed her eyes shut, and I saw steam rise up from the cake pan.

"What in the world? What are you guys doing?" I asked, pulling the blanket off of me. Lavier shot a look at me that told me to stay put, and he carefully scooted over to Sabrina, grabbing the spoon from her. She nodded, stepping out of the kitchen and walking out into the room.

"Braixen, braix." She chirped, grabbing both mine and Celeste's attention.

"Sabrina?" I asked. She grabbed her wand, and I knew she was going to do that picture thing again, so I braced myself. I heard Celeste gasp this time as the world turned white again, but the image this time filled the white better. I saw our hotel room, me and Celeste sleeping in our beds. Lavier was standing by the balcony with Sasha, Boomer, and Sabrina. The image faded, but instead of returning us to the real world, it shifted into a different picture where Lavier was holding onto Boomer and Sasha's legs while they hovered above the balcony, and the picture shifted again to show Sabrina doing the same, only she also had my purse with her. The next picture that came was the four pokemon going to a grocery store, and the picture immediately after was Lavier standing in a baking aisle.

The picture cut out abruptly, and the three of us hissed in pain. I heard a thump, and struggled to open my eyes. I gasped upon seeing Sabrina curled up in the corner of the room, her wand on the ground in front of her with the tip burning low. I forced myself to recover, falling out of the bed and scrambling over to where my Braixen laid.

"Sabrina! Are you okay!?" I asked her frantically, curling up around her and wrapping my arms around her.

"Ugh, my head. You two okay?" Celeste asked, presumably from her bed. I was about to reply when Sabrina gasped, and I looked to see her panting. She stared at my chest, shakily reaching up with her paws. She gripped my night shirt in her paws tightly, and I felt her claws dig into my skin a little. I hummed and pulled her closer, rubbing the back of her head.

"Easy now, easy. I think you pushed a little too hard this time. Whatever it is you are trying to do, don't rush it, okay?" I told her quietly. Sabrina nodded against me and sighed, and we laid there on the floor together, trying to recover from the ordeal together.

"Hey, the fire's on the floor. Oh! How weird! It's touching the floor but the carpet isn't burning! This is neat!" Celeste said in fascination. I sighed in exasperation as I cracked open an eye, rolling it to watch Celeste play with Sabrina's wand. She kept picking it up and tapping the carpet with the flame, marveling at the lack of scorching.

"I swear, it's like I'm traveling with a child. Stop it Celeste, give it back to Sabrina." I growled, not feeling up to doing much else. Celeste pouted, but she relented as she held the wand upright, reaching a hand out to us.

"Alright, Sabrina can you get up? I don't want to put this back on your tail because I'm afraid I'll like, stab you in the butt or something." She said. Sabrina snickered in response, cracking an eye opened and taking Celeste's outstretched hand. Celeste pulled my fiery fox out of my grip, helping her sit back up. Sabrina sighed in content when Celeste released her paw and started pulling on the tufts in her ears gently. Sabrina took her wand back from Celeste and returned it to her tail, allowing the coordinator to continue her ministrations on both ears while I sat up and propped my back against the wall.

"Well, that was a rather interesting way to start the day. Kinda makes me worried about what the rest of our day is going to be like." I said with a chuckle.

"Pft, you worry too much. She just got a little carried away, it happens." Celeste said dismissively. I grinned stupidly at her in response.

"You know that better than anyone, doncha?" I said cheekily. Celeste glared at me, and opened her mouth to retort when she was interrupted by Lavier clearing his throat. When we turned to see what he wanted, we were surprised to see him holding two plates filled with the most delicious-looking breakfast I had ever seen. The plates were loaded with cinnamon rolls that looked every bit as sticky as the bright-yellow icing on them, one roll on each plate. Beside the rolls were strips of bacon that looked so tender with the meat, yet the fat was really crispy. To finish the ensemble, there was a puddle of more of the icing on the plate so that we could dip pieces of the roll if we felt there was not enough. It was a relatively simple breakfast, but given who made it, I was really impressed by it.

"Charmeleon." Lavier said, setting the plates down on the ends of our beds. Celeste and I exchanged grins, and while she rushed over to try my pokemon's creation, I pulled myself off the floor and casually walked over to do the same. Satisfied that we were taken care of Lavier returned to the kitchen, likely to make plates for the rest of the pokemon.

"Almighty Arceus! Lavier, did you really make all of this from scratch?!" Celeste asked incredulously, though it was muffled by the food in her mouth. I rolled my eyes at her poor manners as I tore off a bit of my roll, nibbling it carefully to see how it tasted, and devouring it upon realizing that Celeste was right. The pastry was every bit as delicious as it had looked, and I decided I would give Lavier my critique AFTER I was done.

"Char." He answered in a rather proud tone. Even Sasha seemed subdued as she chowed down on the homemade breakfast. I swallowed another bite of the pastry and briefly glanced at Lavier, happily eating his creation, turning my gaze to Celeste.

"We're keeping our bags stocked with ingredients for him." I told her simply. Celeste coughed a couple of times, choking on her food when she tried to laugh.

"Heck yeah we are! I've eaten in some pretty fancy places, but this cinnamon roll, you can just taste the love and dedication he put into it." She replied. I smiled at her words, nodding to no one in particular as I went back to eating.

After everyone had finished breakfast and we got all of the dishes cleaned and put away, we recalled everyone except Nylass and Fay and headed out of the room. After riding the elevator down, we thanked the clerk warmly and left, making an immediate left turn to go to the gate.

"Hey! Wait!" Called a voice. Celeste and I stopped to find who was calling us, and to our surprise, Diantha herself was running up to us. I blinked in confusion as she jogged over, bending over and resting her hands on her knees while she tried to catch her breath.

"Um, hello. To what do we owe the honor?" I asked. Diantha chuckled as she stood upright, resting her hand on her chest while she swallowed a bit.

"Oh gosh sorry, I've been trying to find you guys for awhile now. I was hoping to catch you again before you left! Where's Vixen?" She asked, looking around.

"She went home. She was only here to help me with something." I replied. Diantha pouted, looking genuinely disappointed by my friend's absence.

"Darn, I wanted to apologize, I feel like I may have upset her yesterday. I hope she's not angry." Diantha said, fidgeting a bit. I shifted Nylass a bit in my arms, trying to think of a nice way to convey Vixen's frustration to her.

"Well, you have to understand, she went through a big crises that was more or less similar to what's going on here. Creepy, influential guy? Check. Big group led by creepy influential guy? Check. Dangerous legendary pokemon sought out by the big group led by the creepy influential guy? Double check. The last time she saw this happen, she got mutilated and her mother died right in front of her eyes." I said, trying to be gentle, yet honest. Diantha frowned and nodded at me, leaving her head looking at the ground.

"I was told about some of this by Cynthia. I'm handling it as best as I can-"

"For being in two demanding jobs at once?" Celeste interrupted, making Diantha blink at her in bewilderment.

"Excuse me?" She asked. I stared at my companion uneasily, shocked by the gall she had. She just smiled innocently at Diantha, though her eyes held a glint of something dangerous.

"That's right. You are doing the best you can working two jobs that are each a life-long dream that require people to work towards them. The fact that you achieved both is nothing short of astounding, but can you really handle the pressure?" Celeste asked, crossing her arms as Fay perched her flower in Celeste's hair. Diantha blinked at her, and I could tell she was having a hard time trying to come up with an appropriate response.

"Celeste, maybe you should save that kind of talk for when you are actually qualified to challenge her? Don't forget, she's still the Champion." I said, trying to warn her.

"Someone has to say it, I don't care if I end up in battle and get curb-stomped." She said in a matter-of-fact tone. Diantha blinked again, and then she smiled, and she began to laugh. I didn't particularly care for it, as it had an almost condescending, bored feel to it. It certainly didn't suit her, given the warmth I felt from her earlier, and I wasn't so sure of how much I liked her now.

"I can't tell you how many times I've heard that. If I didn't think I could handle it, then I wouldn't, it's as simple as that. If you disagree, then you are welcome to challenge me at the pokemon league." She said with a wry smile. I narrowed my eyes at her and took a step between her and Celeste.

"We most certainly will, that's the reason why we're heading out to the next town." I said warningly. Diantha smirked and hummed at me, seemingly impressed by my boldness, and she nodded.

"I'm looking forward to it. Anyone who can speak like that to the queen certainly has the tenacity to back it up. I wish you two luck on your journey." She said with a grin.

"See you then." I said tersely. I resisted the urge to snort at her and turned my back to her. I held Nylass in one arm while I reached back to grab Celeste's hand, pulling her behind me to the gate. I heard clacking behind me, and Diantha ran past us and stopped in front of me, looking frantic and worried.

"Wait wait wait! Oh, I did it again didn't I? Please, please don't be upset, I didn't mean to honest. I, still haven't learned to take being challenged very well. Constructive criticism I can handle, but being outright told I'm not doing good, I need to work on that one." She said sheepishly.

"Yes, you do. Why don't you go work on that while we go get our next badge and research Professor Sycamore's lead." I said, pulling us past her. She jumped in front of us again and bent her head behind her hands.

"I'm sorry! I really am! Wait, lead? Oh! You are researching Mega Evolution? I have an extra mega stone!" She said, digging into her purse.

"Already have a Charizardite and an Ampharosite, no thanks." I said, getting annoyed now as I stepped past her again.

"But, I wanted to give this to Vixen." She said. I stopped in my tracks then, standing in place.

"I'm listening." I said, not turning around. Celeste pulled her hand out of mine and made a sound that was a cross between a whine and an annoyed grunt, and on flexing my hand I guessed it was only because it was because our hands got a little sweaty.

"I really was hoping to catch up to you guys to apologize, and I know words can only mean so much. I have this Absolite here that I found during a shoot of my last movie, and I thought that since she had that key stone on her ring, she might make use out of this. Will you take it and pass it on to her?" She asked. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, thinking on what to do.

'_When two prides refuse to back down, it leads to unnecessary fighting. Those who relinquish that pride are worth a second chance._' To my pleasant surprise, the voice that had been guiding me did not fail to aid me again. Giving up on figuring out what it was, I decided to just accept its words, and therefore accept Diantha's apology.

"Alright, I will give it to her the next time I see her. This doesn't change anything though, I won't hold back when we face off at the pokemon league." I told her, turning to accept her offering. Diantha smiled as I took the pale blue and white marble, slipping it into my purse.

"As well you shouldn't. I really am looking forward to when I am able to battle the two of you, even though I had a poor way of phrasing it. Good luck." She said. I gave her a small smile and a curt nod in return, but I said nothing. She gave me one more apologetic smile and pulled out a tablet, nodding at it. She put the tablet away and with one last, hopeful look, she darted away to complete whatever business needed her.

"Sheesh that could have ended badly. Who's biting off more than she can chew, now?" Celeste asked. I rolled my eyes and sighed, turning back to the gate.

"I didn't like the way she talked back to you. It's one thing for a newbie to boast, but she could have handled that better. If the voice didn't urge me to accept her apology, I wouldn't have taken the Absolite. I'm not going to let her pull Vixen into this." I said. Celeste appeared in the corner of my eye and pouted, crossing her arms.

"Um, if you don't mind my asking, what happened to Vixen?" She asked. I frowned as I tightened my grip on Nylass, the Litleo mewing at me in worry.

"It's not really my place to talk about it. All you need to know is that through no fault of her own, she got involved in the same fight against Team Plasma that I did, and she paid very heavily for it. She was an emotional wreck for weeks after Team Plasma went down. I don't want to see her like that again, not if I can stop it." I told her. Celeste said nothing, and when I stopped to look at her, her eyes were glazed over. She came out of it after a few seconds, gripping the bridge of her nose.

"Sorry about that. Listen, I like Vixen too. You know more about her than I do, and if you say that this is the best way to protect her, then I'm with you all the way. Just, don't get overprotective, alright? Smothering her will do you both more harm than good." She said. I smirked at her and chuckled, making my way back to the gate.

"Is that what your voice told you?" I asked.

"Ah-uh, it told me that being supportive is important, and if I trust you, then I should stand by you. I do, and I will, but I won't let you get carried away and end up hurting yourself. I like you too much for that." She said. I smiled at that as we passed through the gate.

"Thanks, Celeste." I said simply, being unable to find all of the words to express my gratitude.

"Besides, if anything happened to you, I'd run wild and bring the entire region to its knees. You are the only thing standing between Kalos and it's complete and total destruction." She added cheekily. I couldn't help but laugh as we took our first steps onto route five.

"Thanks Celeste." I said again in exasperation. Given what I learned about her, I was rather impressed that she managed to be such an oddball. Then again, maybe that was just her way of coping with it all.

"Coming through!" Shouted a voice. I leapt out of the way as someone rushed over to us, plowing into Celeste. Yellow and purple tumbled on the ground, coming to a stop in a mass of tangled limbs.

"Celeste! Fay! Are you alright?!" I asked, letting Nylass down and running over to them.

"Owwww, don't you know how to stop your skates?" Celeste complained, sitting up. She reached up to pluck Fay's flower out of her hair, gently brushing a finger over the stunned Flabèbè's face.

"Sorry, I was going really fast, I would have crashed either way. I hope no one's hurt." Said the skater as she picked herself up and dusted herself off.

"I think Fay's okay. How about you? Did that hurt at all?" Celeste asked. The skater grinned as she started skating around us in a circle.

"Naw, I'm used to taking tumbles. Listen, I'm super sorry about that, is there anything I can do to help?" She asked.

"Actually, if you could tell us which way Camphrier Town is, we'd appreciate it." I asked before Celeste could say anything. The skater giggled and stopped between us, pointing ahead of us.

"Yep, it's really straight-forward. Just follow the path, and you're there! Oh, are you by chance on your way to Ambrette Town?" She asked. I blinked curiously as Celeste pulled out a book-like tablet, opening it up and looking at the map.

"Hmm, it's kinda out of the way. Why? Is something cool happening there?" She asked, putting her map away. The skater grinned as she skated away.

"Hang on! I'll be right back!" She yelled. Nylass and I blinked at each other, looking at Celeste and Fay who seemed just as confused as we were. The skater came back a few minutes later, clutching a strap on her shoulder. She stopped just short of us, panting heavily as Fay floated back up to perch on Celeste.

"Whacha got there?" Celeste asked, blinking curiously. The skater grinned and pulled her bag around, setting it on the ground. She dug through the bag, pulling out two large, roundish objects. One was a vibrant green, looking almost teal, with a floral-shaped marking on it. The other, a purplish-blue, had a large indent that was oddly-shaped, making me think of a puzzle piece.

"I found these while I was skating on the course by the Cyllage City Gym. I think they might be some kind of evolution stones, but the only way to know for sure is to take them to the lab in Ambrette Town. They're closed every time I have a chance to go there and find out though." She said, holding them out to us. I blinked at her as my gaze turned to the rocks she held.

"So, you want us to find out for you?" I asked curiously.

"Nope! I want you to find out for you! I feel really bad about knocking your friend down, and I'm not gonna keep skating all the way to Ambrette just for a couple of rocks. None of my pokemon even evolve with stones, so it doesn't matter to me one way or another. Take these as my thanks for being good sports about it." She said. Before I could protest, Celeste ran in and snatched the purple-blue rock, looking at it in wonder.

"Thanks so much! Man, I should run into people more often! I make friends every time I do!" She said excitedly. I sighed in exasperation as I carefully took the teal rock from the skater, brushing my fingers over the pattern.

"Don't mind her, I'm still trying to find an asylum that'll take her. Thanks for the directions, and the gifts. I'm intrigued to see what they are." I said, inspecting my rock closely. The skater beamed at us, turning around with her backpack.

"Well, good luck! And stay on the path, there's been some shady people around here." She said, skating away. I blinked after her, glancing one more time at the rock I received before putting it away.

"I wonder if there might be a mega stone inside?" I mused out loud.

"Nah, they look more like fossils. If that place in Ambrette is what I think it is, these will turn into pokemon." Celeste said suddenly, making me gasp.

"What? How, how exactly do you know that?" I asked. Celeste smiled as she put away her own rock, patting her purse and walking to the path.

"My first contest was in Oreburgh City, and I was so excited for it that I made it there a week before the contest began. When Triton and I weren't working on our appeal, I managed to kill time by working with the gym leader. He was a miner, and he showed me some of his fossils that he found while he was digging. In fact, his signature pokemon was revived from one of the fossils he found. These have the same general look and feel." She explained. I blinked at her, astounded by her theory and how she came to it. Perhaps there was something to her intuition. I chuckled at the thought, following after Celeste while Nylass padded beside me.

'_Heed the warnings of strangers, for there is always a ring of truth to their words._' The voice said suddenly. I gasped and looked around, and when I noticed some rustling in the bushes, I quickened my pace to catch up to Celeste.

"We've got company." I said quietly to her. Celeste was instantly on guard, but she did not stop walking.

"Are we in trouble?" She asked, keeping her voice low. I bit my lip and tried to look around a bit more, gesturing for Nylass to come closer and let me pick her up again.

"I don't know, let's just keep on the path and get to Camphrier Town as soon as possible." I said, bending down for a moment to grab my Litleo. Celeste nodded and reached up to gently stroke Fay.

"So what do you think we'll find in Camphrier Town? Aside from a ton of camping-related puns." Celeste asked, trying to keep the mood light. I chuckled and was about to answer her when I heard a screech behind me.

"Drio!" Cried a pokemon. Celeste and I whipped around to see a pair of Dodrio and a Doduo being chased by a pack of Houndoom, tears streaming from the birds eyes. Celeste and I stared in shock as we absentmindedly stepped aside, allowing the pokemon to pass by. The Dodrios shot past us, but the Doduo tripped and skidded in the dirt. The pack skidded to a halt and began to close in slowly on the Doduo, who struggled around on its back while both heads looked fearfully at the Houndoom. Celeste and I turned to each other and nodded at each other, and I let Nylass down.

"Use Noble Roar, Nylass!" I commanded. My Litleo growled as she stamped her paws on the ground, inhaling deeply.

"LEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOO!" She howled at the Houndoom, causing them to stop and look at her in surprise.

"Fay, whip up your biggest Fairy Wind!" Celeste commanded. Fay's flower flew off her head and floated just above Nylass. The Flabèbè leapt off and allowed the flower to tilt towards the Houndoom, rotating quickly and producing a large wave of sparkles that batted against the Houndoom. While it wasn't enough to blow them away completely, it did stun them long enough for me and Celeste to run over to Doduo, the two of us bracing our hands on the side of it's body and pushing. It struggled onto its feet, and it gave us a grateful chirp, dashing away in the direction the Dodrio had gone.

"Imputent whelps! You dare defy the Great One!?" Called a voice. I looked up and saw three figures, cloaked in vibrant black and red robes, emerge from the bushes, the Houndoom growling menacingly in between us.

"What? Who are you?!" I asked. The figures didn't answer me, raising their hands up.

"The circumstances have changed. Houndoom, carry out the Great One's will. Reap what you see." The lead figure said in a feminine voice. As she brought her middle fingers and thumbs together, I was overwhelmed by fear and urgency.

'_RUN!_' Cried the voice. My head pounded from the command, but I pushed myself to carry it out as I held out Nylass's pokeball, recalling her. The lead cloaked figure snapped her fingers, and the Houndoom snarled and charged at us.

"Run, Celeste!" I said, jumping in between her and the Houndoom. I thrusted my hands out to repel two of the Houndoom as Celeste recalled Fay, and she grabbed my hand and pulled me down the path.

"Oh not again! You must accept your fate! This is what befalls all of us! Death is inevitable!" Cried the figures. The Houndoom pack howled as they chased after us, and we ran as hard as we could to evade them. I cried out in pan and fell, pulling Celeste down with me as one of the Houndoom latched onto my left ankle. I gritted my teeth and tried to kick out at Houndoom with my other leg, only to be caught by another that also latched on. Celeste cried out in pain as the Houndoom pounced on her as well, and try as we might, we were not able to fight them off.

But someone else was. Each Houndoom yelped as they were sent flying away from us by Tri Attacks one by one, and the Dodrio from before dashed back to us, cawing angrily at the murderous dogs. The pair stopped when they got to me and Celeste, and two of their three heads bent down to grab us by the shoulders, pulling us to our feet. They let go and ducked at each other, throwing us onto their backs with me draped over the Dodrio that picked up Celeste, while Celeste was thrown onto the one that had picked me up. We scrambled to properly mount on the Dodrio, and I held the tan middle neck in front of me, Celeste grabbing onto the black middle neck of her stead.

"Hurry Dodrio!" I cried. With a caw of urgency, Dodrio took off down the path again, and I looked behind me to see Celeste and the other Dodrio close behind. The Houndoom had recovered from the attacks by now, and resumed their pursuit of us. I gritted my teeth and grabbed Boomer's pokeball, holding it up to call out the Noibat.

"Boomer! Use Dragon Pulse!" I commanded. Boomer emerged from his capsule with a surprised squeak, flying behind us quickly. As we got farther and farther away from him, I saw the purple mist of the breath weapon emerge from him, though I couldn't tell if it was a proper Dragon pulse or not. Either way, it served its purpose in stalling the Houndoom and putting more distance between us and them, and Boomer made an about-face, flapping his wings hard to catch up. He was panting hard as he pulled up behind us, and I held his pokeball out while Celeste and her Dodrio ducked, allowing me to recall him.

"There's the town! Dodrio, if you get us there we'll be safe! We can call Officer Jenny!" Celeste cried, pointing ahead of us. The Dodrio chirped in confirmation, and we ducked down and held onto the birds tightly, having done all we could to stop the Houndoom from catching us.

It was up to our new friends now.

* * *

TBC

Sorry I'm late. Our AC broke down for a couple days *during the hottest days of the year, naturally* and I couldn't concentrate. It's all fixed now ^^

So, this chapter was just one big roller coaster of emotions, isn't it? Sabrina overtaxing herself, some mild insubordination from Diantha, and now a mysterious group of people packing Houndoom trying to kill our heroines? God, this really is Lola all over again, isn't it? XD Sorry to leave this on a cliffhanger, I figured that if I ended it there though, it'd be easier for me to start the next chapter.

Will Aldith and Celeste succeed in alerting Officer Jenny to arrest these people? Are they tied to Team Flare? Am I asking stupid questions?

We'll just have to see in Chapter 19.


	20. Chapter 19: Aldith Calls for Aid

"Someone call Officer Jenny!"

"Help us, please! They're trying to kill us!"

Celeste and I called out at the top of our lungs as we made it into Camphrier Town, the Houndoom hot on our tail and getting closer. People gasped and fled when they saw us, and I was confused by some of the things they said.

"The Reapers are back!"

"Everyone hide! Don't let the Reapers see you!"

"Where is Officer Jenny!?"

The Reapers? Is that what they were called? What exactly was going on here? Sirens began to fill the air, and I was relieved to hear them, grabbing my Dodrio's middle neck.

"Go to the sirens! They'll protect us!" I urged, pulling the neck in the direction of the sound.

"Follow them, Dodrio!" Celeste called behind me. The birds squawked and quickly turned, running towards the sirens. Soon, we saw a squadron of police cruisers blasting their way through the roads, and I held an arm up and started waving at them.

"Over here! This way!" I yelled. A motorcycle jumped over the line of cruisers, slamming onto the ground and rocketing towards us. Officer Jenny had a determined look on her face, it's intensity outmatched only by the feral look of her Manectric in the sidecar. I yanked Dodrio's neck upwards, and she leapt high as Jenny darted past us, Celeste and her Dodrio doing the same.

"Stop here, Dodrio!" Celeste called as we hit the ground. The Dodrios stopped and panted slightly, all of us watching as Jenny skidded to a stop, her Manectric leaping out of the sidecar while cruisers blasted past us.

"Manectric, use Discharge!" Jenny cried. Manectric howled as its fur crackled with electricity, and with a thrust of its head, it sent out a massive, electrifying wave. The Houndoom were unable to evade the attack and cried out in pain as they became engulfed by the Discharge. Their trainers ran up just as the Discharge ended, allowing them Houndoom to flop helplessly onto the ground.

"Vile law enforcement! Stop getting in our way!" Cried the woman from before. Jenny dismounted from her motorcycle and stood behind her Manectric.

"You are under arrest! Make this easy on yourselves and give up!" She commanded.

"Tric!" Her partner snarled, its fur crackling as it growled. The cloaked figures pulled out four pokeballs each, recalling their fallen pack of Houndoom.

"Go fuck yourself, the Great One's will shall reign supreme!" Said one of the other figures in a male voice.

"No you don't!" Jenny said. The three would-be killers threw more pokeballs, and three Zebstrika emerged in front of them. Their trainers leapt onto their backs, and with a fierce whinny, the Zebstrika reared up and galloped away. Manectric barked fiercely and sent another Discharge after them, the the electricity passed harmlessly through the black and white pokemon. The cruisers sirens blared again as they began their pursuit but Officer Jenny and Manectric stayed still. Sighing in relief that they were gone for the time being, Celeste and I dismounted from the Dodrio, sliding down and landing on the ground unevenly. The birds chirped questioningly, and I patted my ride's side.

"You're safe now, Dodrio. Thanks for coming back for us." I said gratefully. I felt a surprisingly gentle pinch on my shoulder where the Dodrio nipped me, and the two of them nodded their heads at us, turning away and running off. I heard something thump beside me, and I saw Celeste laying on the ground.

"Geez, I could have done without that. That was so scary." She said with a whimper. I smiled and sat down beside her, reaching over to pat her stomach when I heard a soft padding. I looked and was shocked to see Manectric standing over me, sniffing me carefully.

"Are you two alright? You can pet him if you want, it might help you feel better." Jenny said as she walked her motorcycle over to us. Manectric huffed at us and leaned in, rubbing his head against my cheek and whining. I chuckled and reached up to scratch his mane, which was surprisingly not charged.

"We're okay now thanks to you and those Dodrio. Our ankles might need patching up though." I said, hissing as I turned to look at my legs. I stopped scratching Manectric and reached down to pull my pant legs up, wincing at the sight of blood on my socks.

"Oh my, they almost got you? I'll tell you what, if you agree to come to the station to give your statements, I'll call one of my cruisers back to take you there and we'll treat your wounds." She said. I sighed and nodded at her, leaning back to prop myself on my hands.

"Alright, it's a deal. I don't think I could really go anywhere like this anyway." I said.

"Mane." Manectric barked, moving behind me. I watched him lay down and nudge Celeste's head, making her groan as she sat up.

"Don't make me do anything, I wanna sleep." She complained. Jenny laughed as she grabbed her radio.

"Car Three, can you come back? I've got the victims here and they need medical attention. Over." She said. I heard a garbled response on the radio that I couldn't make out, but she was satisfied by it as she leaned against her vehicle.

"Then lay down on him. Manectric is trained not only to combat criminals, but to be soothing and provide comfort to any victims. We'll keep you safe until the cruiser comes back for you." She said. Celeste and I took her up on her offer without question, and we leaned back until we were laying on Manectrics surprisingly soft fur.

I was almost asleep when the sirens came roaring back. Unfortunately, the people who had attacked us evaded the squad cars in the thick brush, giving the police no choice but to turn back. On the plus side, that meant there were more hands to help me and Celeste into one of the cruisers. Our ankles were throbbing painfully and it was so hard to walk, and while Celeste complained loudly about it I took deep breaths and tried not to think on it. The officer who drove the car and his partner tried to cheer us up and help us not think about it as we traveled back to the station in a convoy, with Jenny and her Manectric leading the parade.

When we got to the station, our ankles were so painful that we dared not think about standing. Thankfully, Celeste and I were relatively lightweight, which allowed our driver and his partner to easily pull us out of the cruiser and carry us inside. We stopped in the middle of a large office area, where all of the officers gathered while Jenny and her pokemon faced us.

"Okay everyone, this is the third attack this week. The Reapers are getting bold, and I have a feeling it won't be long before we can no longer chase them away. I want all of you to focus all of your efforts on capturing the members of the sect near us. I want these people arrested by any means necessary. Recruit trainers and wild pokemon to help if you have to, but we must and we WILL protect our city. Dismissed!" She boomed.

"Yes Ma'am!" All of the officers replied, everyone but the two cops carrying us saluting. The cops dispersed, some going to their desks while others decided to go back on the beat, and Jenny motioned for the officers holding us to follow her, and she took us to another room. It was a much smaller, very cozy office that had a giant pokemon bed in the corner, which Manectric immediately leapt in. Jenny motioned for the officers holding me and Celeste to set us in the reclining chairs facing the desk, and after laying us down, they walked out to do their jobs. Jenny grabbed a pokeball off her belt and tossed it up, releasing a Blissey that looked very happy and relaxed.

"They've got Houndoom bites on their ankles that need to be treated. Girls, was there any fire involved?" Jenny asked. I raised a brow at her as the Blissey waddled over to us, pulling our pants legs up and pulling our shoes and socks off.

"No, why?" I asked. Jenny sighed in relief as she walked around her desk, sitting in the chair and typing on the keyboard, turning the monitor to her.

"Good, flames from a Houndoom will burn on a human forever, and there is no cure for it. So, can you tell me what happened?" She asked, her hands hovering over the keyboard.

Celeste and I told our story to Officer Jenny, starting from the warning from the skater about staying on the path to when we dismounted the Dodrio that had saved us. She typed up everything we had said while Blissey treated our ankles, and I asked Jenny what exactly had happened to us. Her answer, though I could tell she was withholding some information, was unsettling.

The group that had attacked us belonged to a cult that was simply called "The Reapers". Their goal was to kill whatever they could whenever possible, and they had sects scattered all over the region. She did care to mention that they didn't have anything to do with the mysterious pokemon deaths reported on the Holo Caster, as they used the most brutal, bloody methods to dispatch their victims.

By the time our injuries were healed, there was nothing else we could offer the police, nor that they would be willing to divulge. As we left the station, I noticed that Celeste seemed more unhinged than usual. She was shaky and visibly nervous, almost afraid. I reached out and grabbed her hand, holding it tightly.

"Hey, it's okay. We know what we're dealing with, mostly." I told her. Her head whipped to me and she gritted her teeth.

"But we DON'T know! There are people out there who are randomly killing for the sake of killing, and we are most certainly on their radar now! We're gonna have to look over our shoulders now!" She said hysterically. She began to hyperventilate, her brow sweating and her eyes darting everywhere in paranoia. I winced, muttering an apology for what I was about to to, and grabbed her shoulders, pulling her to me and slapping her as hard as I could. She fell onto her butt and stared at me in shock, her hand rubbing her cheek where I had hit her.

"You were getting hysterical, you need to calm down." I told her, my hand throbbing slightly.

"Owwwww, you could have been gentler…." She muttered, still rubbing her cheek. I chuckled at her as I reached my other hand out to her.

"As long as you are focused on that and not what was driving you crazy. Let's go find a place to stay and do some research. I know a couple of people who are really great at it." I told her. Celeste frowned as she stared at my hand.

"But, what if the Reapers find us? Even all of our pokemon combined couldn't handle all of them." She said quietly.

"Don't worry, I have a plan for that too. You trust me, don't you?" I asked her. Celeste blinked and looked up at me like I was stupid, grinning as she grabbed my hand.

"What kind of question is that? Of course I do!" She said as I pulled her up. We smiled at each other and laughed, keeping our hands tightly clasped, and we started down the street.

As luck would have it, we found a hotel and a pokemon center right next to each other. We considered just staying in the pokemon center, but I decided Celeste deserved a little bit better than that after what she had gone through. We did stop in the pokemon center to get our pokemon treated, but while that happened, I decided to make a stop at the phone area, with Celeste following me curiously. I sat down at one of the terminals and picked up the line, dialing a number.

"_Greetings! What sort of role is this phone call playing in our story?_" Shauntal said as she picked up.

"Heh?" Celeste asked. I rolled my eyes at her and tried to focus.

"Hi Shauntal, Vixen's on her way home. She should be on the ferry back to Castelia by now." I told her. The Ghost-Type master beamed at me, her eyes wide with excitement.

"_How fantastic! I shall certainly create the most warm welcome that there ever was in a story!_" She said, making me groan inwardly.

"Good, but that's not the only reason I called, or I would have called Grimsley. I need YOUR help with something." I told her, making the woman tilt her head.

"_Oh? I have a role to play in your story? What might that be?_" She asked. I took a deep breath, glancing at Celeste briefly.

"I need you to look into a cult. My friend and I were just attacked by some of its members, but the only thing the police would tell us is that they are called The Reapers and that their only goal seems to be wiping out life in Kalos. Can you find out more about them? Like, where they came from, or maybe where they are? I figure the more we know, the better." I told her. Shauntal looked alarmed by my inquiry, which was odd considering how well she masked her emotions except when she was really excited.

"_Oh my, I've written a story or two about cults, but I never actually looked into one. This could be a thrilling story, but for you to be the protagonist? I fear my daughter might try to write herself into it._" She said. I chuckled and nodded, holding the receiver against my ear tightly.

"I know, and I already prepared for that. I've got one more phone call to make. If you learn anything about the Reapers, can you send me an e-mail?" I asked. Shauntal nodded as the screen grew dark.

"_It seems a challenger has arrived. Thank you for my assignment, and please, be careful that your story does not become a tragedy._" Shauntal said as the screen brightened up again.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. I survived Team Plasma twice, I can make it through this too. Goodbye, Shauntal, and thank you." I said, hanging up.

"Who was that crazy woman and why couldn't I understand her?" Celeste asked almost immediately. I laughed as I leaned back in my chair.

"Her name is Shauntal, she's a member of the Unova Elite Four and she's also Vixen's mom by adoption. She's also a very successful author, and part of the reason for her success is that she'll go above and beyond to research her stories. If anyone can uncover this cult, it's her. Now, I've got one more phone call to make." I said, grabbing the phone again and dialing another number. The phone rang quite a few times, and I was starting to get irritated. After what seemed like forever, it finally picked up.

"_What is-Aldith! Hello there! Is everything alright?_" Colress said, at first sounding irritated, but when he realized who was calling, his voice quickly morphed into the warm concern of a friend. I couldn't help but smile at him as Celeste hovered over my shoulder.

"Ooo, who's he?" She asked. I pushed her away and cleared my throat.

"It was until now. May I borrow Genny for a little while? We need a guard mon for overnight and I can't think of anyone better." I asked. Colress frowned and opened his mouth, but the screen bugged out, and I heard a buzzing sound.

"_Whaaa-aat exaaaaact-doyyyyy-neeee-eeeed?_" Said a warped, feminine voice. I winced at the sound as the screen fixed itself, and Colress looked thoroughly annoyed.

"_How many times have I told you not to hijack my calls?_" Colress said to someone offscreen. I sighed into the phone, pressing a button to get their attention again.

"Genny, you really should be careful about hacking a phone call, your voice gets warped and it gave me a headache. Listen you guys, there's a cult out here that just tried to kill me and my friend, Celeste. We're going to go recover in the hotel nearby but I would like Genny here because of the fact that her sensors are always online, and if they tried anything while we're here she'll be able to alert us before they do. Please guys, you know I wouldn't ask this if…" I said, gesturing with my eyes to Celeste. Colress stared at me, his face devoid of any emotion, and I saw something move behind him. The call ended abruptly, and I frowned at first, which quickly turned into confusion when the phone began to ring again. I blinked a couple of times before I answered it, and was greeted with a screen of static.

"_I'll be happy to stay with you for a night or two. Colress was in the process of upgrading me, but that's just going to have to wait._" Said the female voice from before, though much clearer and lighter than before. I smiled and nodded at the static.

"Thanks Genny, I really, really appreciate that. You may want to bring your Douse Drive with you, these guys use a pack of Houndoom to do their dirty work. With any luck though, this will just be a mini vacation for you." I told her.

"_Alright, I'm installing the Drive now. And don't worry about trying to turn this into a vacation for me. You're correct in assuming that I'm your best protection with my sensors. Just give me a couple of minutes, and Colress will send me over._" Genny replied. With that, the phone call cut out again, and I laid back to relax.

"What was all that about? Who, or better yet, what is Genny?" Celeste asked. I inhaled deeply and looked at her tiredly.

"That was Colress, he's Vixen's boyfriend, and a very good friend of mine. Genny is a pokemon that he made for Team Plasma, and-" I started only for Celeste to wheel me around to face her.

"Wait wait wait, "MADE"? As in, he created a pokemon from scratch!?" Celeste asked, blinking rapidly at me.

"Yes, though the initial creation had more people working on the project. It was called "Project G" and the initial aim was to create a pokemon that could rival a legendary pokemon's power, similar to Team Rocket in Kanto making Mewtwo, only ours was going to be cybernetic and therefore easier to control." I said.

"WE'RE GETTING A MECHA MEWTWO?!" Celeste screeched, making me wince.

"No, Genny is not a Mewtwo. The species has been dubbed "Genesect", and after Team Plasma found Kyurem, Ghetsis turned attention away from the project and focused on trying to control Kyurem instead. Colress worked on Genny in secret so that she could fight Kyurem and protect Vixen, though that worked for about three minutes tops." I explained. The phone rang again, and when I picked it up, Colress was waiting with a pokeball in full view.

"_Alright, the Douse Drive has been installed and she is ready to go. Are you ready to receive her?_" He asked. I smiled and nodded, watching the port.

"Yep, thanks so much for this Colress, I'll get her back to you when we get to the next town. That shouldn't be more than a week." I told him. Colress sighed, but he didn't put up a fight as he set the pokeball down offscreen. The screen changed, telling me that the call was trying to send something and asking if I wanted to accept. Upon hitting the confirm button, the pokeball transporter glowed, and a pokeball dropped down in front of me, the screen changing back to Colress.

"_She's all yours, Aldith. Please be careful, alright? If things get too intense, call me again and I'll see if I can get Carina or N to you._" He said, his voice filled with worry. I smiled as I took Genny's pokeball, holding it in front of me so that Colress could see it.

"Come on, you know me better than that. Between my skills and Genny's power, we'll be just fine getting to the next town. Vixen is coming home by the way. She should be on the ferry by now." I told him. Colress perked up, and a smile crept onto his face.

"_Thank you. I am looking forward to seeing her again. You take care, Aldith._" He said, nodding at me before hanging up. I couldn't help but chuckle as I put the receiver back, putting Genny's pokeball on my belt while I stood up.

"Well, that was fun. Ready to get our pokemon and check into the hotel?" I asked, looking at Celeste before leaving to go get our pokemon.

"Aren't you gonna let Genny out? I wanna see what she looks like!" She asked excitedly, her body shaking from anticipation. I chuckled as I leaned on the counter.

"You'll have to wait until we get into our room, Genny's the kind of pokemon that'll get a lot of stares, and she is actually really shy. That kind of attention makes her uncomfortable." I explained. Celeste nodded understandingly, and when we got our pokemon back, we immediately booked it out of the pokemon center.

Celeste still looked somewhat skittish as we made the small trip between the center and the hotel. I felt bad that I couldn't let Genny out just yet to make her feel better, but it wouldn't do either of us good to make our protector uncomfortable, especially since Genny was volunteering to do this for us. With a lack of any better ideas, I reached out and squeezed Celeste's shoulder tightly, reassuring her enough to allow her to relax and get us checked in.

As soon as we got into our room, which was not quite as difficult as the motel in Lumiose thankfully, Celeste went straight to her bed, throwing herself on top of it and looking at me with a wide, expectant grin. I chuckled at her and I let all of my other pokemon out first.

"Just a sec, Celeste. Let your pokemon out too because I need to explain a couple of things about her." I said. Celeste pouted, but complied as she let her own pokemon out.

"Fiiine but hurry! I wanna seeeeee!" She whined. I sighed in exasperation, grabbing Genny's pokeball.

"Okay, so Genny is a very good friend of mine, but you need to know a couple of things. First of all, she is really shy, and does not like excess attention. Don't treat her any differently than you would treat a normal pokemon, and she'll warm up to you much faster. She's doing this as a favor to me, so I'd like to make this as painless as possible for her." I explained. Celeste and the pokemon nodded, except for Sasha who seemed almost bored by my words.

"What's the other thing?" Celeste asked.

"Well, she doesn't talk like a normal pokemon. Remember how I told you she's mostly cybernetic? That means she communicates in human words, but she sounds like a computer. She's nowhere near as eloquent as she was on the phone. Her normal speaking voice is somewhat loud, monotone, and is very to the point. If we had a phone for her to call us on or a way for her to email us, she'd be easier to understand…" I said. Celeste looked at me with a deadpan expression, digging into her bag and pulling out the tablet that she had Vixen buy us way back at the Master Prep Shop.

"You mean something like this?" She asked sarcastically. I chuckled sheepishly, looking down at the pokeball.

"Alright, that'll probably be her main way of talking to us. Anyway, if you are ready, here we go. Everyone, meet Genesect." I said, tossing the pokeball up. The light that burst out of it became a sort of disc-shape, hovering in front of me. When the light faded, a purple, saucer-like object hovered in front of us. Celeste looked at it in wonder as it beeped, and with a few clicks, the object disassembled into a creature that had a Scizor-like body, though its arms were long and tipped with claws, and a giant cannon was mounted on its back.

"IDENTIFICATION: GENESECT. DESIGNATION: GENNY. DIRECTIVE: PROVIDE SECURITY FOR ALLY." Genny said in her monotone. Celeste made an "ohhhh" expression with her face, sliding off the bed and walking up to the pokemon.

"Hi there Genny! I'm Celeste! I'm Aldith's travel buddy, and she's told me a bit about you! She said you might like it better to talk to us through a phone or a messaging system, so I have this tablet! Will this work?" She asked, holding the tablet out to her. Genny beeped at it as her red eyes flashed, the tablet activating. I heard a revving sound, and after a couple of minutes, I heard a beep in the tablet.

"_Oh that is much better! Thank you! Everyone finds it easier to understand me this way. It's nice to meet you, Celeste._" Said Genny's voice in the tablet. I looked over and saw that she had started some kind of voice chat application on it.

"Wow that's gotta be record timing for you to hack into a portable device. Is there no firewall on that thing?" I asked.

"_Hilariously, no, there's not. I'll install one of my security programs into it before I leave, I'm pretty sure I have a good one that can be copied._" Genny replied. Celeste beamed as she looked around, setting the tablet on the dresser between our beds.

"Can you still use it okay from here?" Celeste asked. Genny nodded and looked around the room, taking a couple of steps forward.

"_This is pretty nice, and with you two in close proximity, it'll be easier for me to keep an eye on you. You're not going to have to leave though, are you? I still don't like going out in public._" Genny said, looking at me. I smiled as I turned to my Charmeleon.

"That depends, when you went to the store this morning, did you get anything to make lunch and dinner?" I asked. Lavier smirked and nodded, reaching out to me for my bag. I smiled and handed it over, reaching over to pat Genny's head.

"_I brought some money with me too, if you wanted to get room service._" She said, leaning down until a pouch fell out of the mouth of her cannon. I looked curiously at it, bending down to pick up the small bag and pulling it open, seeing some prepaid cards inside.

"Whose idea was this?" I asked.

"_It was a joint decision. Colress and I indeed know you would not ask for help if you didn't really need it, so I electronically added some money to those cards for you to be able to get food and whatnot in a safe manner. So, who exactly is after you?_" Genny asked. I sighed as I stood up, walking over to my bed and flopping down on it, laying the cards down on the dresser. I really didn't feel like laying this all out in front of Celeste, out of fear that it would make her go nuts again.

But Genny had to know what she was up against.

* * *

TBC

Sorry that not much happened here, but I used a word counter and it turns out that this is actually pretty lengthy. We'll have some downtime here, and next chapter I am thinking of doing another horror-movie thing like I did back in Lola, because I've been thinking about this and it could be fun!

It's the return of Genesect! I actually really like her as a character, and decided that it's not really out of character for Aldith to request a little backup to make her friends feel safe.

So, as there is not much else to say here, I'll just go right into making the next chapter.

See you in 20!


	21. Chapter 20: Movie Mania

**Warning, the following chapter is pretty much filler that has little to nothing to do with the rest of the story. It's mainly an example of me shamelessly jumping on the Freddy bandwagon, you know the one, and if you couldn't care less, you can jump right to my chapter notes for an important question by typing TBC in your find. ^^**

* * *

Oddly enough, as I told Genny about our ordeal, Celeste didn't seem quite so upset by it this time. As we enjoyed our lunch, a humble seafood chowder prepared by Lavier, Celeste just kept her focus on watching TV while Genny and I talked.

"_That sounds scary! You weren't kidding when you said you had a good reason for asking for me. How are your ankles?_" Genny said, crouching in a corner of the room with her back to me.

"We're alright now. Officer Jenny had a Blissey that treated our ankles for us. I really appreciate you coming to help with this. Do you like the chowder?" I said, smiling in her direction. Genny straightened herself and turned to me, something retracting into her mouth while her eyes flashed.

"_Like I said, I'm happy to help, and the chowder is delicious. You've taught that Charmeleon well._" She said. I was about to correct her when Lavier snorted indignantly.

"Charmeleon, char char!" He said in irritation. Genny made a small screeching sound, bobbing her head at him.

"_My apologies! Please understand, the idea of a pokemon teaching itself a skill that has little to do with combat is rather strange to me. That makes you no less talented by any means._" She said, shrinking into herself slightly.

"It's alright Genny, I know you didn't mean any harm. Lavier's just got an ego bigger than he is, that's all." I said, much to the ire of my pokemon. Genny hummed in appreciation at that, turning around to brace her small claws against her bowl to slide it across the floor.

"Ooo I know what we're gonna do tonight!" Celeste exclaimed. I raised my brow in curiosity as I grabbed her bowl and mine, bringing it over to the kitchenette to wash.

"And what's that? We're not leaving the hotel until tomorrow." I said sternly. Celeste chuckled in response.

"We don't have to, and we probably won't want to until daylight anyway. One of Diantha's movies is on pay per view tonight, and I've heard great things about this one!" Celeste said. I frowned at that as I returned to the room, laying back on my bed.

"I'm not quite sure I've forgiven her enough to care for her movies right now. Give it twenty-fours hours at the very least." I said pointedly.

"Aww but this one is cool Aldith! It's a horror flick based on this game some guy made a while back, and it still has a firm grip on the net! It even overthrew the Slendoark for the scariest thing on the web! Pleeeeeeeease?" Celeste begged, looking at me with big, puppy-dog eyes. I narrowed my eyes at her, which caused her to stick out her bottom lip.

"I'm immune to that look, Romeo patented that look from the very start." I told her.

"Okay but, you realize I'm not going to let this go until you give in, right?" Celeste asked.

"Celeste." I said warningly.

"Alright, I'll play this card then. I'm trading a rational fear for an irrational one. If we focus on how scary the movie is and worry about the monsters from the movie coming after us, at least we won't be thinking about The Reapers, right?" Celeste said. I winced at that, and sighed in defeat.

"Dammit Celeste, fine. It better be good though." I said, crossing my arms.

"Yay! It will be, I'm sure of it!" She said excitedly, practically screaming from jubilation.

We decided that for us to get the full effect, we'd wait until nighttime to order the movie and watch it. We spent the rest of the day watching various other shows, mainly sitcoms with the occasional cooking show for Lavier. When night finally fell and we had eaten dinner, I found that I was actually looking forward to this. My feelings about Diantha aside, for someone to come up with something more frightening than even Shauntal's Slendoark was quite a feat, and I couldn't wait to see how they topped her.

_The screen was black, and it stayed that way even as music started to play over it. It took awhile, but I managed to place the song as a music box version of El Toreador. I furrowed my brow as the music continued to play, and bubbles of varying colors started to fade in and out over the screen._

"Are we sure this is a horror movie?" I asked, hissing when Celeste slapped me.

"Shush! Just watch!" She admonished in a whisper. I rolled my eyes and nodded, staring at screen.

_A title appeared amongst the colorful bubbles, reading "Five Nights at Freddy's." The bubbles and the black screen faded into a red hue briefly, turning into a colorful stage with three tall, robotic pokemon standing on it. On the far left, a purple Bunnelby held a guitar, moving its hands stiffly in an obviously fake strumming motion. On the far right, a shiny Torchic with long arms was holding a fake cupcake in its hand, though it appeared to have eaten one too many. In between them, a Teddiursa in a top hat and a bow tie was looking around._

_"Hey, kids! Welcome to Freddy Ursa's Pizza! Let's strike up the band! I'm Freddy Ursa, and these are my bandmates, Torchica and Bonnelby." Freddy said in a recorded voice, it's jaw moving out of sync._

_"Hey Freddy, is it time to start yet? I wanna get jammin!" Bonnelby said, having a similar glitch._

_"Not before we eat some de-de-delicious piz-za-za-za!" Torchica said, its jaw barely moving as its voice box glitched._

_"Ha ha ha, don't worry you two, there's plenty of time! Maybe if we play well enough, the kids will buy a lot of pizza for everyone to share! Are you ready, kids? One, two…" Freddy said as the animatronic band started playing a song. The camera shifted, and Diantha was on screen, holding a purple bundle against her chest, standing beside a short, portly man in a bright purple uniform._

_"Geez, I don't know why corporate won't let us scrap 'em. We could get a lot of money for those hunks of metal." The man said with a disgusted snort._

_"Well, the children seem to like them, but I have to agree that they are a bit creepy. So, just to be sure, I DO get the job, right, Mr. Monemunch?" Diantha's character said, looking suspicious of the man. Mr. Monemunch snorted and crossed his arms, nodding curtly._

_"Yeah yeah. Turnover rate for this gig is high, so do me a favor, and don't quit. We won't pay ya nothin until you get through your first week, got it?" He said with a sneer._

_"Uh, right. First week, got it. So, when do I start?" She asked._

_"All newbies get the night shift their first few months. Ya start at midnight, but ya gotta clock in at eleven. Shift ends at six the next mornin, but you gotta clock out by six thirty." He said._

_"And, I get to eat here for free?" She asked. Monemunch snorted and let out a derisive caw of laughter._

_"Sure, but you don't want to. The only thing nastier than those stupid robots is the food. You're better off slathering a cardboard box with tomato sauce. Whatever, just go home and go to bed, we won't tolerate sleeping on the job." He barked, straightening out his sleeve and walking away. She blinked after him and looked at the clothes in her arms. After contemplating for a few seconds, she turned away and walked out the door, not noticing three sets of robotic eyes following her._

_The scene faded until the restaurant was dark and the customers had left. Diantha wandered through the restaurant, looking around at her new workplace that she had to guard. She straightened out some of the party hats that sat on the tables and pushed in some chairs, but for the most part, everything was neat and tidy. Even the robots on the stage were lined up perfectly, ready to perform._

_"Well this doesn't seem so bad. I wonder why the turnover rate is so high here? Do you guys know anything about it?" Diantha asked the animatronics, chuckling when they failed to answer._

_"Well, that's alright. I think we'll get along fine here. I'll be in the office if you guys need me." She sang, adjusting her tie on her purple uniform. Three sets of eyes followed her as she walked down the hall, though again, she didn't notice. As she reached her tiny, cramped office, she grimaced at the garbage on the desk. With a sigh, she began to clear some of it away, glancing at her watch and seeing it was ten after eleven. As she cleared her desk, she noticed there were some papers that had spots of what appeared to be blood on them._

_"Oh my, there actually is something to guard against here? But why? It's a children's pizzeria, what's here that people want to break in for?" She asked no one in particular as she threw the papers away._

_With her workstation more or less clean, she sat in the chair and leaned back, inhaling deeply. She glanced at her watch again, seeing that her shift officially started in five minutes. With a nod, Diantha leaned over and grabbed the tablet on the desk, turning it on and starting up the cameras. As she browsed through the cameras, a phone began to ring. She blinked, putting the tablet down to search for the phone. She found the source of the sound coming from one of the drawers in her desk, pulling it open to find a phone inside. Before she could answer it, the phone picked up itself, transferring to the speakers near the desk._

_"Hello? Oh hello? Uh, I wanted to record a message for you to help you get settled in on your first night." Said a male's voice. Diantha tilted her head at the stereo as she leaned back in her chair._

_"Oh? My supervisor or something? How come I didn't meet him?" She said as the man continued._

_"Um, I actually worked in that office before you. I'm finishing up my last week now, as a matter of fact. So, I know it can be a bit overwhelming, but I'm here to tell you there's nothing to worry about. Uh, you'll do fine. So, let's just focus on getting you through your first week. Okay?" He said, making Diantha's eyebrows furrow in confusion._

_"What?" She asked before he continued._

_"Uh, let's see, first there's an introductory greeting from the company that I'm supposed to read. Uh, it's kind of a legal thing, you know. Um, 'Welcome to Freddy Ursa's Pizza. A magical place for kids and grown-ups alike, where fantasy and fun come to life. Ursa Entertainment is not responsible for damage to property or person. Upon discovering that damage or death has occurred, a missing person report will be filed within 90 days, or as soon property and premises have been thoroughly cleaned and bleached, and the carpets have been replaced.' " He said in an almost bored tone._

_"Excuse me?! Wait what?" Diantha said in alarm._

_"Blah blah blah, now that might sound bad, I know, but there's really nothing to worry about. Uh, the animatronic characters here do get a bit quirky at night, but do I blame them? No. If I were forced to sing those same stupid songs for twenty years and I never got a bath? I'd probably be a bit irritable at night too. So, remember, these characters hold a special place in the hearts of children and we need to show them a little respect, right? Okay._

_So, just be aware, the characters do tend to wander a bit. Uh, they're left in some kind of free roaming mode at night. Uh...Something about their servos locking up if they get turned off for too long. Uh, they used to be allowed to walk around during the day too. But then there was The Bite of '87. Yeah. I-It's amazing that the human body can live without the frontal lobe, you know?" He said with a mixture of understanding and nervousness._

_"Woah woah woah wait a second-" Diantha started, only for the recording to interrupt._

_"Uh, now concerning your safety, the only real risk to you as a night watchman here, if any, is the fact that these characters, uh, if they happen to see you after hours probably won't recognize you as a person. They'll most likely see you as a metal endoskeleton without its costume on. Now since that's against the rules here at Freddy Ursa's Pizza, they'll probably try to...forcefully stuff you inside a Freddy Ursa suit." He said._

_"Okay?" Diantha said, blinking._

_"Um, now, that wouldn't be so bad if the suits themselves weren't filled with crossbeams, wires, and animatronic devices, especially around the facial area. So, you could imagine how having your head forcefully pressed inside one of those could cause a bit of discomfort...and death. Uh, the only parts of you that would likely see the light of day again would be your eyeballs and teeth when they pop out the front of the mask, heh." He said with a barely audible gulp._

_"…I think I know why the turnover rate for this job is so high…" Diantha said dryly._

_"Y-Yeah, they don't tell you these things when you sign up. But hey, first day should be a breeze. I'll chat with you tomorrow. Uh, check those cameras, and remember to close the doors only if absolutely necessary. Gotta conserve power. Alright, good night." The male voice said in a tone that told her good luck. Diantha gulped as she pulled up the tablet with shaky hands, pulling up the camera that faced the stage. All of the animatronics were still in the same place she left them on the stage, but their heads slowly rotated to face the camera, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand at attention. Glancing at the upper right corner of the screen, Diantha whimpered quietly as the clock read twelve-thirty._

_"I'm stuck in a pizza parlor with killer robots for five and a half hours. Joy." She said sarcastically, glancing at the doors. She shakily stuck her head out of the right hall door and stared into the darkness._

_"Um, for what it's worth, I'm here to protect you guys, so, don't kill me, okay?" She called down the hall. She yelped when she saw Bonnelby appear in the hall, staring at her with large, joyful eyes. Diantha shook as she and the rabbit stared at each other, and yelped when Bonnelby raised an arm, gesturing to the wall to her left._

_"First night, we go, easy. Stay in, close the doors. Clock is ticking." Bonnelby said in spurts, as though it was cutting phrases from it's settings. As it began walking closer, Diantha yelped again and pulled her head back inside, looking at the wall and seeing the button for the door. She slammed her hand against it, and the door came crashing down between her and the animatronic. She started to pant as she pressed her back against the chair, scared out of her mind and confused about what was happening. She yelped again when something banged against the door._

_"Go away please! Let me do my job!" She pleaded with Bonnelby. The animatronic banged on the door again._

_"Light." Bonnelby said. Diantha furrowed her brow, glancing at the panel with the door button. She saw a green button underneath it, and with a shaky hand, reached out to push it. She yelped when a light turned on outside, and she saw a big shadow on the wall outside the window. She whimper as Bonnelby moved to the window, staring out at her._

_"Um, thank you? S-so, are we…okay?" She asked shakily, straining to be loud enough for the animatronic to hear her. Bonnelby pulled its eyelids down in an angry expression._

_"No, more, help. Clock is ticking." Bonnelby said in snippets. It wandered out of the window, and Diantha waited for a few minutes before she pulled up the monitor, wincing at her power reader that said "97%", and almost outright crying when she saw Torchica had also left the stage._

_"I….I don't like this. I…um…" She said, putting the tablet down and opening the door._

_"So, just so we're clear, if you get in here, you WILL stuff me in the suit, right?" She yelled down the hall._

_"Hee hee hee! That's riiiiiiight!" Said a feminine voice behind her. Diantha screamed as she pulled her head back into the office, slamming her hand on the right door button. As it slammed down, she turned on the light, and gasped when she saw Torchica slumped against the wall outside the window, staring at her with its mouth wide open to show its teeth._

_"Right, okay. So, first night he said is easy, right? So, go away now?" She asked with a gulp. Torchica just continued to stare at her, making no indication of moving any time soon. Diantha frowned and sat back in the chair, being a bit shaky._

_"Oh god, this… This is a little too much. I need a drink." She moaned, looking up at Torchica._

_"I don't suppose you'll let me out long enough to get a soda or some water or something? I mean, I'm here for over five hours, and if I'm going to fight for my life, I'd like to not be thirsty. Please?" She begged the animatronic. Torchica narrowed its eyes at her._

_"Can't leave. Don't do that. You have to follow the rules, game!" Torchica said in clipped snippets, wandering out of the window. Diantha sighed, resigning herself._

_"Yeah, didn't think so. Wait, this is a game? These robots are playing a game with me? Killing me is a game to them. Fan-tucking-fastic." She moaned, slumping in her seat. She pulled the tablet up and looked at the cameras again, trying to locate the animatronics. Freddy stayed on stage, oddly enough, while Bonnelby was wandering around in the backstage area. She grew visibly frustrated when she couldn't find Torchica, and frantically searched all of the cameras for the yellow Torchic. She jumped when she heard clattering in the kitchen, but when she turned to the feed, there was only audio._

_"So that's where you are." Diantha muttered, only for everything to go quiet. Diantha began to frantically switch cameras, and realized with horror that she could hear footsteps on the right. She moved to close the door, and when she turned on the light, she saw Torchica staring at her again._

_"No more, help. It's time to play!" The robot said, wandering away. Diantha tilted her head at the window, cautiously moving to open the door. To her surprise, there was a rather large water bottle sitting on the floor just outside of the door. Glancing at the window again, Diantha leaned down to pick it up, relishing how cold it felt. She untwisted the cap, surprised to find that it still had the security seal, and took a shaky swig of the liquid. She stuck her head back out the door and took a deep breath._

_"Thank you! I'll play your game, but I don't plan to die here!" She called, pulling herself back in._

_"I say like I have a choice. Stupid Monemunch, 'you don't get paid until the week ends', what an ass. I wonder if he knows about any of this? What I have to deal with?" She said bitterly, flipping up the tablet to look at the cameras._

_"Who am I kidding? Of COURSE he does. That guy on the phone said the company cleans the suits out and changes the carpets when we get caught. I can't believe the killer robots and a disembodied voice look out for me better than my own boss. I can't believe what I got myself into…" She said, putting the tablet down to check the doors. She gasped at the sight of Bonnelby in the door, slamming her hand on the door button._

_That one last encounter with Bonnelby was the last one of her shift, and she was able to finish the night with twenty-five percent power left. The tablet played the Westminster Chime upon turning six, signaling the end of her shift, and she stood up on shaky legs. Putting the tablet down on her desk and holding onto her half-consumed bottle of water tightly, she carefully made her way out into the hallway. She yelped when Bonnelby emerged from the supply closet, but it made no attempts to attack her._

_"Safe, at, six. Leave." It said to her. Diantha nodded and followed Bonnelby at a hefty distance, keeping her eyes glued onto the animatronic as it made its way to the stage where Freddy and Torchica waited. As Bonnelby climbed on, Diantha looked to the kitchen door, glancing at the bots before making her way over. She grabbed the handle on the door and pushed, but found it was locked. With a deep breath, she looked at the stage._

_"Torchica, how did you get in? I, I could use a bite to eat." She asked shakily. To her surprise, it was Freddy who turned to her as its companions wound down._

_"Key, door, frame. See you again real soooooon." Freddy said as it too, wound down, the sound almost eerie. Diantha nodded as she reached up to the top of the door frame, grabbing the key and opening the door. The smell of cooking pizza assaulted her nose, and she was confused to see some of the ovens powered on._

_"Torchica cooks? Well…okay then. I wonder if they mind me trying some?" She said, glancing at the stage. Judging by the lack of the animatronics reactions, she figured they didn't care, and she went straight to the fridge._

_"Ayeeee, lass best not look there. Ye reward is near. Claim it and begone, ye scalawag!" Said a voice behind her. Diantha jumped and turned quickly, but she saw nothing behind her except for Pirate's Cove, the curtain waving slightly as though it had moved. With a gulp, she turned and began looking around the kitchen again, finding a box on the counter. She tilted her head at it and approached it cautiously, opening it up to find a large, steaming pizza sitting within. She picked up a slice of it and bit into it, her eyes widening._

_"Oh my gosh, this is amazing! Wait, so, if I survive the night, they give me food as a reward? Well, considering why I took this job, I can't say that's a bad trade off." She said, putting her slice of pizza back in the box and closing it up. She picked the box up and strode out of the kitchen, setting her food on one of the tables before locking the kitchen up._

_"Thank you. It is delicious. Uh, if you take requests, may I maybe have a salad tomorrow to go with it? It will last me a couple of days. Um, see you tomorrow?" She said uncertainly, taking note of the eyes that followed her as she went to clock out._

_The screen faded, and when it came back, it was the next night. Diantha returned to the restaurant, her water bottle full. She stood outside the door and stared at the handle, as though she were willing herself to turn away. With an irritated sigh, she walked in and made her way to the party room, glancing at the animatronics._

_"Do me a favor guys, when you do your shows, remind the kids to stay in school and keep up their work, or they have to play shitty survival games with robots." She said, walking around the tables to straighten them out some more. She took a glance at her watch and saw that she still had half an hour before her shift began, and the next round of the deadly game would begin._

_"I'm gonna go make some coffee, I'll be in the office soon." She said, walking over to the kitchen. She grabbed the key and went inside, noticing that the ovens were off. Her lips twitched in a slight smirk as she started the coffee pot, walking over to each oven to turn them on. Her coffee finished, she turned the coffee maker off and grabbed the pot and a cup, backing out of the kitchen._

_"Got the ovens preheating for you, Torchica. You make great pizza." She said as she wandered down the hall. After pouring some coffee into her cup and setting the pot on the desk, Diantha leaned back in her chair and groaned._

_"I can't believe what I've gotten myself into." She muttered, sipping her coffee._

_The phone began to ring as the clock struck twelve, and Diantha nodded solemnly to herself, mouthing the word "showtime" as she grabbed the tablet, turning on the cameras while the phone picked itself up._

_"Uhh, Hello? Oh hello? Uh, well, if you're hearing this and you made it to day two, uh, congrats!" Said the man on the phone._

_"Go screw yourself." Diantha hissed at the voice, though naturally, being a recording, the man just continued._

_"I-I won't talk quite as long this time since Freddy and his friends tend to become more active as the week progresses. Uhh, it might be a good idea to peek at those cameras while I talk just to make sure everyone's in their proper place. You know…" He said, making Diantha roll her eyes._

_"Duh." She snapped as she watched the stage carefully._

_"Uh... Interestingly enough, Freddy himself doesn't come off stage very often. I heard he becomes a lot more active in the dark though, so, hey, I guess that's one more reason not to run out of power, right?" He asked._

_"Gotcha, anything new for me?" Diantha asked as she watched Bonnelby step off of the stage._

_"I-I also want to emphasize the importance of using your door lights. There are blind spots in your camera views, and those blind spots happen to be right outside of your doors. So if-if you can't find something, or someone, on your cameras, be sure to check the door lights. Uh, you might only have a few seconds to react... Uh, not that you would be in any danger, of course. I'm not implying that." He said, making Diantha laugh bitterly._

_"Of course not." She said sarcastically._

_"Also, check on the curtain in Pirate Cove from time to time. The character in there seems unique in that he becomes more active if the cameras remain off for long periods of time. I guess he doesn't like being watched. I don't know. Anyway, I'm sure you have everything under control! Uh, talk to you soon." He said, making Diantha's eyes widen._

_"Shit, there's a fourth one? I guess that's who talked to me last night. This is getting better all the time." Diantha said, her voice cracking slightly. Hearing footsteps outside of her left door, she didn't even bother putting the tablet down as she pressed the button to bring the door down. Switching over to Pirate Cove, she winced at the sight of the curtain parting, a pair of eyes staring at the camera. There was a knocking on her left door, and she rolled her eyes._

_"I thought you said you guys weren't gonna help me anymore? Go away please." Diantha yelled, turning on the light and glaring at Bonnelby's shadow on the wall. Bonnelby stomped away from her door, and after waiting for a minute, she opened it up again and shut the light off. With that out of the way, she turned her attention back to the Pirate Cove camera, gritting her teeth when she saw an animatronic shaped like a Delphox standing outside of the curtain, its head tilted up while a hook touched its chin._

_"Oh…" Diantha groaned, putting the tablet down for a moment to take a swig of coffee. She heard a rapid series of footsteps on her left, and she jumped in her seat. With a yelp, she slammed her hand on the door button, the door crashing down as something slammed against it. She turned on the light, and gasped upon seeing a robot Delphox staring at her through the window._

_"Arrrrr, ahoy matey! I'm Foxy the Pirate, ruler of the seven seas!" The animatronic said through the window. Diantha narrowed her eyes at the animatronic, crossing her arms._

_"You can just call me Miss Schmidt. So, let me guess, your MO is more or less the same? You catch me I get stuffed?" She asked the animatronic. Foxy nodded at her, saying nothing, and she sighed._

_"Alright, and you in particular are going to bum rush the door?" Diantha asked._

_"Aye lassie! Keep vigil on the port side!" Foxy said, wandering away. Diantha arched a brow in confusion, but shrugged and hit the buttons to open the door and turn off the light._

_The rest of the night brought no more surprises, though Torchica and Bonnelby frequented the office more the the night before, just as the phone guy said. Diantha frowned when she saw that her power consumption had gone up from the previous night, and this time had only managed to conserve nineteen percent of her limited power when the clock struck six. Standing up and stretching her legs, Diantha grabbed her water bottle, coffee pot, and coffee cup and walked out of the right door, following Torchica out into the party room._

_"Did you leave the kitchen open? My hands are a little full here." She asked. Torchica stopped at her words, reaching up to grab the key from the door frame and unlocking the kitchen._

_"Thanks, I'll get it on my way out." She said as Torchica set the key down on the table. Diantha silently went into the kitchen to put the coffee pot back in the coffee maker, taking her cup over to the sink to wash it out. Setting it on the rack to dry, Diantha turned to the box on the counter that Foxy said was her reward, and upon opening it, was delighted to find a bowl filled with lettuce and some chopped vegetables inside. With a nod of approval, Diantha closed the box and picked it up along with her water bottle, backing out of the kitchen._

_"Thanks, Torchica. I don't have any other preferences for tomorrow, so whatever you'd like to do. See you guys tomorrow." She said as she locked the door and replaced the key, making her way out of the restaurant._

_The scene faded again, and Diantha stood outside of the restaurant again the next night, gripping her water bottle tightly. With another sigh, though one that was more resigned than the night before, she went in. Once more, she straightened out some of the tables and chairs and party hats, making her way to the kitchen. She turned on the coffee maker and started to turn the ovens on again, just as she did the night before, walking out of the kitchen with her coffee pot and cup in hand, her water bottle bouncing on her belt._

_"Let's get this over with guys, we got a long night ahead of us." Diantha said as she made her way down the hall. Sitting in her chair and leaning back, she closed her eyes for a moment as she sipped some coffee, waiting for the tell-tale ring of the phone to signal the start of her shift._

_She barely reacted when the phone began to ring, slowly opening her eyes and grabbing the tablet. She cursed under her breath upon seeing Bonnelby had already left the stage, and began looking for the animatronic as the phone picked up._

_"Hello, oh hello? Hey you're doing great! Most people don't last this long. I mean, you know, they usually move on to other things by now. I'm not implying that they died. Th-th-that's not what I meant." Said the phone guy, making her snort._

_"Of course not." Diantha said dryly._

_"Uh, anyway I better not take up too much of your time. Things start getting real tonight." He said, his voice getting serious._

_"Figured as much. Go on OH MY GOD!" Diantha said, jumping up when she found Bonnelby in the backstage area, staring into the camera with with dots where its eyes should have been. Diantha panted and put her hand on her chest, holding the tablet shakily with the other while the phone continued._

_"Uh... Hey, listen, I had an idea: if you happen to get caught and want to avoid getting stuffed into a Freddy suit, uhh, try playing dead! You know, go limp. Then there's a chance that, uh, maybe they'll think that you're an empty costume instead. Then again if they think you're an empty costume, they might try to... stuff a metal skeleton into you. I wonder how that would work. Yeah, never mind, scratch that. It's best just not to get caught." He said. Diantha winced at his words, as though thinking about how it would work._

"Ewwwwww! Did they really have to go there?" Celeste cried suddenly. I snapped out of my uneasy trance and blinked at her curiously.

"What do you mean?" I asked. Celeste shuddered and shook her head rapidly.

"The process of putting an animatronic into a costume is to basically try to work it through the back of the costume. Now, think about us, and where our back entrance is." Celeste said. I stared at her in horror and shuddered.

"Um, let's just pay attention to the movie again, I think something's happening." I said, turning back to the screen.

_Diantha was panting as she leaned against the left wall by the button panels, a banging sound filling the air. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she waited for the sound to stop, and with the soft footfalls telling her the animatronic was gone, she sat up and opened the door._

_"Not cool, Foxy! I had my eyes glued to your camera and you know it!" She yelled out the door. A throaty laugh answered her, followed by the soft humming of the Delphox animatronic, and Diantha sighed as she laid back._

_"No one needs money this desperately, not even me." Diantha groaned, pulling the tablet back up and switching cameras. She stared at the screen with a tired expression as Torchica stared back at her from the right hall cam._

_"Hey Torchica, if you haven't figured out what to make yet, can I get something with chocolate tonight? I need some comfort food to cope with this." She yelled out the right hall door. Naturally, she received no answer, and she flicked the button that turned on the light, revealing Torchica in the window._

_"Hi Torchica." Diantha chirped, casually pressing the button to slam the door down. Torchica's expression never changed, even as Diantha turned her attention to the left door to check for Bonnelby. Finding the animatronic was still not nearby, she flipped up the tablet and glared at the Pirate Cove feed, finding Foxy peeking out of the curtain yet again._

_"Oh come on! Really Foxy? Really? Son of a…" Diantha complained, looking up to find Torchica was gone. She turned the light off and opened the door, not even bothering to check the left door as she brought it down, stopping Foxy in its tracks._

_"That's right buddy, just flail uselessly against my door. I'm going to survive this crappy job, then give that fatass Monemunch a piece of my mind when I quit." She muttered, flipping the tablet back up and doing another sweep with the cameras._

_For the rest of her shift, Diantha did well in keeping the animatronics away, accurately predicting when they would show up to get the doors down in time. Foxy made no more charges that night, but a strange, eerie laugh filled the restaurant before the clock hit six. At the sound of the Westminster Chime, Diantha set the tablet back on the desk and stretched, grabbing her stuff and leaving the office. She sauntered through the hall and made her way to the party room, where Bonnelby and Torchica were climbing on stage. Turning her gaze over to Pirate Cove, she grimaced at the sloppily closed curtains. She set her stuff on the floor for the moment and walked over to the robotic Delphox's domain._

_"For pete's sake, Foxy, do you WANT kids to come up in here?" She complained as she started fussing with the curtain. A hook thrusted out from between the curtains and latched around her hand, the point just barely pressing into her skin._

_"Aye…." Foxy said, its head poking out of the curtains and staring at her. Diantha blinked and tilted her head at the mechanical pokemon._

_"What?" She asked quietly, her eyes glancing at the sign in front of the attraction._

_"Why are you out of order?" She asked. Foxy glared at her as it released her hand, pulling the curtains away to reveal it's torn, disheveled body. Diantha mouthed an 'oh' at the animatronic as she grabbed the curtains. She frowned sadly at Foxy as it retreated, and she closed the curtains._

_"I'd help if I knew how…" She whispered quietly, turning away._

_"Ye reward is near. Claim it and begone, ye scalawag!" Foxy boomed after her. Diantha shook her head and made her way to the kitchen, picking up her coffee pot and cup to put them away. Opening Torchica's box yielded a pile of chocolate chip cookies that looked fresh out of the oven, and she cracked a smile at them as she closed the box and picked it up._

_"Thanks, Torchica. See you guys tomorrow." Diantha said as she locked up the kitchen and made her way out of the restaurant._

_The scene transitioned again, and Diantha stood outside of the restaurant, staring up at the sign. Her lips twitched, and with a shake of her head, she made her way inside to carry out her pre-shift routine._

_"Hey guys, hope your week is going better than mine. I guess I'm gonna be seeing a lot more of you tonight, eh?" She said as she pushed in some of the chairs. She reached up to retrieve the key from the door frame, but when she went to unlock the kitchen, she found that the door was already open._

_"Whoops, someone left this door open. I'll have to stick a note on here to let them know not to do that." She said, walking in to get her coffee and the ovens on. She retreated from the kitchen with her precious coffee and glanced nervously at the animatronics._

_"Um, good luck tonight? See you in a few." She said, making her way slowly to the office. She poured herself a cup of coffee and slumped into her chair, trying to make herself completely awake and alert for the night._

_She pumped a fist up as the phone began to ring, signaling the start of her shift. She grabbed the tablet and began flicking through the cameras, hardly surprised to find Freddy alone on the stage. She flicked the camera to view Pirate Cove as the phone picked up, watching the curtains very closely._

_"Hello, oh hello? Hey! Hey, wow, day 4. I knew you could do it." Said the phone guy, sounding noticeably distressed._

_"Yeah yeah, get on with it." Diantha muttered as she flicked away to watch Bonnelby in the backstage area._

_"Uh, hey, listen, I may not be around to send you a message tomorrow." Said the phone guy. In the background, there was a banging sound, similar to the sound made when Diantha closed the door on Foxy, but more persistent. Diantha furrowed her brows at the sound as she continued to listen, keeping her eyes glued to the tablet._

_"It's-It's been a bad night here for me. Um, I-I'm kinda glad that I recorded my messages for you *clears throat* uh, when I did." The phone guy said, the banging becoming more and more frequent. Diantha's breathing quickened as she listened to the plight of the man on the phone._

_"Uh, hey, do me a favor. Maybe sometime, uh, you could check inside those suits in the back room? *bang bang* I'm gonna to try to hold out until someone checks. Maybe it won't be so bad. *bang bang* Uh, I-I-I-I always wondered what was in all those empty heads back there." As he finished his sentence, the title music began to play, and there was a voice singing to it, though it was nearly impossible to make out the words._

_"You know…" Said the phone guy, a strained moan in the background._

_"Oh, no - "_

_"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"_

_Diantha nearly fell out of her seat as a deep, demonic scream filled the room, followed by static, and then a click as the phone hung up. She held the tablet in shaky hands, throwing it onto the desk and slamming her hands on the door buttons. With both doors down, she sat in the chair and stared at the floor with wide eyes, tears welling up in them._

_"Oh my god….they killed him." She said quickly. She heard a thump on the left door, and with her arm shaking, she turned on the light, Bonnelby staring at her from the window._

_"You killed him. You really killed him. You're seriously going to kill me?! I AM REALLY FIGHTING FOR MY LIFE?!" Diantha screamed at the animatronic. Bonnelby said nothing, but its eyes narrowed at her, the expression being all too clear. Diantha's eyes twitched as she pressed herself against her chair, trying to get away from the animatronic as it walked away, and she shook her head quickly._

_"God, I, I was stupid to think that they weren't really going to kill me. This is a game to them, but it's so real…" She said, looking at the tablet. It read half past twelve, and the power indicator read "80%", quickly turning to seventy-nine due to her high usage. Diantha glared at the device, turning to the two doors. Turning on the lights to make sure no one was there, she opened both doors and grabbed the tablet, leaning back in her chair._

_"You're not getting me too. I'm not going to die in a children's pizzeria from a bunch of buckets of bolts. BRING. IT. ON!" Diantha yelled, daring the bots to come after her._

_Music played over the next scene, sounding every bit as daring and determined as Diantha as she whipped her arms around the office, checking for animatronics, shutting doors to keep them out, and tracking their movements throughout the restaurant. Despite Foxy's speed, and her discovery of Bonnelby's irritating habit of jumping from room to room in no time at all, Diantha was able to keep the bots at bay._

_"Hue ha ha." A deep laugh echoed through the pizzeria at around four, drawing Diantha's curiosity. She slammed the door down just as Foxy made another dash to the office, flicking the camera to figure out what the sound was. She saw a pair of eyes stare at her from in front of the stage, but she could not make out which animatronic they belonged to._

_"Maybe the stage cam will show me who you are. Hey Foxy! You done yet?" Diantha muttered, finishing with a yell as she opened the door. She gasped upon seeing the stage completely empty. Freddy was down, and he was coming. She gritted her teeth as she stared at Freddy's eyes on the tablet._

_"Shit….how do I deal with you?" She said as Freddy turned away and began to walk._

_"Freddy! You're not supposed to move until it's dark and I run out of power! You're cheating, you robotic bastard!" She yelled out the right door, checking for Torchica in the meantime. Freddy just did that creepy laugh again, and Diantha sighed in annoyance as she turned the camera onto Pirate Cove, seeing the curtains closed._

_"At least YOU'RE behaving." She muttered, putting the tablet down. She turned on the light in the left door and saw Bonnie staring at her. Flipping her middle finger at the robot, she shut the door and went back to the tablet as Freddy laughed again._

_Sweaty and panting, Diantha had given up on using the tablet and was straining her ears to listen into the halls. With less than an hour to go and only fifteen percent power left, she could not afford to waste any more of it. She heard Foxy's rapid footsteps on her left, and slammed that door shut, hearing the animatronic pound uselessly on the metal as soft footfalls on her right told her Torchica was coming. She slammed the right door down and turned on the light on the left to make sure Foxy and Bonnelby were not there, opening the door. She glanced at her watch, gritting her teeth as she opened the right door._

_"Come on, just a little while longer, I'm almost there!" She said desperately. She heard the same, strained moan that preceded the phone guy's untimely demise and shut her eyes tightly. Then, everything went dark, and a whirring sound filled the air. Diantha cursed under her breath as she opened her eyes and looked at her powerless office, shaking like a leaf as the sound of soft footsteps on her left got closer and closer. A face became illuminated in the door, staring at her with bright blue eyes._

_"Hi Freddy." Diantha said meekly. The eyes narrowed as a winding sound filled the room, followed by El Toreador._

_"Hi there, I'm Freddy!_

_Wanna come and play?_

_I think you're special_

_In your own way._

_I'd love to sing a song for you_

_It's my favorite thing to do_

_Cuz I love you through and through." Freddy sang._

_"Oh great. This is how I die." Diantha said quietly._

_"Come play with Freddy_

_Play the night away._

_All Freddy's friends have come here to say._

_We'd love to sing a song for you_

_It's our favorite thing to do_

_Cuz we love you through and through!" As Freddy finished his song, the Westminster Chimes played from her tablet, signaling the end of Diantha's shift. Diantha gulped as she stared at Freddy, wondering if the "rules" still applied regarding her safety at six am. She whimpered as Freddy held a paw out to her, but made no other moves._

_"It's tiiiiiiiime to, go." Freddy said in the same clipped speech as the rest of the animatronics. Diantha sighed in relief as she stood up, ignoring Freddy's outstretched hand. She snatched her coffee cup and the pot from her desk and glared at Freddy. She said nothing as she marched out the right door, stomping down the hall. She Slammed her back into the kitchen door and set the coffee pot down, moving to put her coffee cup on the sink. She braced herself on the sink and stared at the drain, breathing deeply. Passing a glance at Torchica's box, Diantha bit her lip and shook her head roughly, snatching the box off of the counter and marching out of the kitchen._

_"Calm down, just one more night, and you can get out of this hell hole." She muttered to herself as she locked the kitchen door and returned the key. She kept her head down as she quietly made her way through the restaurant to leave, ignoring the eyes that followed her._

_The scene faded once more, transitioning to Diantha walking down a dark hall, the walls plastered with children's drawings, newspaper clippings, and posters._

_"IT'S ME" A voice loudly whispered, making Diantha turn around._

_"H-hello?" She called, but the voice didn't answer. With a gulp, she turned around and continued to walk. A child's laugh echoed through the hall, and Diantha picked up her pace to a jog._

_"IT'S ME" The voice whispered again, followed by more laughter._

_"What do you want?" Diantha cried, looking around at the walls. The drawings and newspapers melted away, turning into images of figures crying, horrified looks frozen on their faces, while the posters morphed to show the animatronics in disfigured positions._

_"IT'S ME" The voice whispered even louder. Diantha began running, her eyes becoming frantic. She saw a shape in the distance, and pushed her legs hard to run over to it._

_"Help me!" Diantha screamed at the figure. She stopped and fell upon seeing the the figure was none other than Freddy, staring at her with eyes that looked all too human. She started crawling backwards as Freddy began to advance, and she yelped when she backed into something. Looking up, she was horrified to find she had backed into Bonnelby, it's eyes completely missing, leaving black craters in its face that looked like they would suck her in._

_"No, no please! No no no!" Diantha said as Bonnelby bent down to pick her up. She struggled in the robotic pokemon's grip as Freddy got closer, and despite her desperate pleas, the animatronics paid no attention as Freddy began to remove its mask, turning it over and holding it out to Diantha._

_"No, no! No please!"_

_"NOOOOOOOO!" Diantha screamed as she bolted upright. She looked around at her surroundings, finding that she was NOT in the sinister hallways of her deathtrap workplace, but safe and sound inside her cramped, cheap apartment. She gripped the sheets in her hands tightly, the fabric visibly soaked with her sweat, and she panted heavily._

_"I…I can't go back. Shit, Schmidt, you are going to anyway, aren't you? Freddy nearly killed you and you are STILL going back. I NEVER should have taken this job." She said, looking at her watch on the dresser by her bed. She sighed on seeing it read five in the afternoon._

_"I gotta clock in in six hours, damn." She said, laying back._

_"Monemunch, you ass, I swear, when I make it to six and get my check, I'm going to rip Foxy's hook off his body and give you a colonoscopy with it. I wish I could afford some equipment so that I could catch those damn bots being the monsters they are, that way I could bury this whole damn company and run it into the ground." She said, her voice becoming progressively angrier. With a disgusted snort, she rolled over in her bed and rested her head on her hands._

_"Come on, Schmidt, you need to get some sleep. You can't let these damn nightmares keep you from resting, you can't sleep when you get to work." She told herself, closing her eyes._

_The scene shifted again, and Diantha stood outside of the restaurant. She glared at the sign of the happy-go-lucky Teddiursa holding into the name, and she clenched her fist._

_"Note to self: Buy a can of spray paint and draw some teeth and angry lines on the sign. If I can't show the world with video, maybe I can at least hint at the nature of these things with a little art. Alright, back to the grind. One last round of cat and mouse and I can be out of this place for good." She said, pushing the door open and walking inside. She didn't even look at the stage as she silently walked over to the kitchen, grabbing the key and opening the door. Ignoring the ovens, she grabbed her coffee cup and started the coffee pot, tapping her fingers on the countertop as she impatiently waited for her caffeinated drink to brew._

_When the coffee pot was full, she turned the coffee maker off and backed out of the kitchen, making her way down the hall. She sucked in a deep breath, trying to keep herself calm, as she made it into the office, setting her coffee cup down on her desk and filling it. After putting the coffee pot down and sipping her drink, she leaned back in the chair and glanced at her watch._

_"Gotta keep an eye on the time, I doubt I'll get a phone call letting me know when it's starting." She muttered._

_She jumped in her seat when the phone did indeed ring at the stroke of midnight. She narrowed her eyes at the desk as she grabbed the tablet, turning on the camera feed to see the stage empty already._

_"Geez, what in the world-?" She said as the phone picked up. At first, static filled the room from the speakers, but it was quickly replaced by a demonic, growling speech. Diantha held her breath as the incomprehensible sound pounded through the speakers, and she had to react quickly to stop Bonnelby from getting inside. Short screams were heard in the background of the garbled speech, and the phone stopped, leaving Diantha to pant in the office._

_"I…am so…DONE WITH THIS PLACE!" She screamed, slamming her fist on the left door._

_A montage played, showing Diantha opening and closing doors, turning the lights on and off, while the sound of Foxy constantly throwing itself against the door echoed, a transparent digital clock showed time passing over the screen. As the clock ticked, Diantha looked progressively more and more frantic, until five am rolled by. She sat there panting as she stared at the tablet, her hands shaking on seeing the power indicator._

_"Fifteen percent….I have an hour to go, and fifteen percent left…..I can do this, I HAVE to." Diantha whimpered. Freddy's deep, haunting laugh echoed through the pizzeria, and she gritted her teeth as she closed the right door._

_"Bite me, Ursa! Shut up and leave me alone!" She yelled through the door, having no doubts that Freddy was right outside of her office. She listened carefully to make sure Bonnelby was not at her door, pulling up the camera to watch Foxy._

_"Okay, you stay there Foxy. Now, where are you Bonnelby?" She muttered, flicking through the other cameras. She tilted her head as she looked at the right corner camera, seeing a pair of empty, black eye sockets on a golden version of Freddy on a poster._

_"What the?" She said, putting her tablet down._

_"Hee hee, hee hee." Laughed a small girl as the same eye sockets stared at her through the slumped, golden Freddy suit in front of her._

_"WHAT THE HELL!" Diantha yelled, jumping in her seat and scrambling as far back as she could. The little girl's laugh echoed through the room, and Diantha was visibly distressed by the appearance of the suit. Hearing steps in the left hall, she shut the door and quickly flipped the tablet up to check on Foxy, but when she brought the tablet down, the suit was gone, and the laughing had stopped._

_"Wh-where did it go? What WAS that thing?" She asked quietly, panting hard. The sound of Foxy slamming on her door snapped Diantha out of her frightened trance, and she opened the door back up._

_"I'll deal with that in my nightmares later. Just finish this." She told herself, her hands clenching the tablet as she saw the usage was down to seven percent._

_"Great, I can't even check on Foxy now, I'll just have to hope he doesn't charge my door again. Come on, come on." She said, leaning back in her seat. Freddy's haunting laugh got louder as she opened the right door, crossing her arms and staring into the blackness of the hallway._

_"Only Foxy can come in when I'm staring at the doors, right? Let's hang out, Freddy. Spend some quality time together until six rolls by and I can get out of this stupid place." She taunted. Freddy merely laughed, though whether it was in response to her statement or not was uncertain. Diantha took a deep breath and visibly struggled to maintain her composure. _

_She sat there, staring at the door, and the fade-cuts made it seem like she was sitting there forever, waiting for something to happen. She turned her head to the sound of Foxy's fast-paced running down the left hall, and went to shut the door. Her face fell in horror as the button to close the door merely clicked, making no other response._

_"No…" She whimpered as the manic Delphox robot charged into the room._

_"AHHHHHHHHHHH-" It screeched, reaching out for her before the room went dark. Diantha's breath hitched in her throat as Foxy's hook held the collar of her shirt._

_"Arrr, it looks like your lucky day! Back to the ship, lads! Make way for the captain!" Foxy said, shaking Diantha loose from its hook and retreated into the darkness. Diantha was confused at first as she heard soft padding coming towards the room._

_"Wha? Oh! Right, this is a game." Diantha whispered quietly, backing up to the right door and looking down._

_"Well I'm not play your game anymore, six can't be that far away. We're gonna play a new game now." Diantha said, pulling herself onto her feet and quietly sneaking out into the right hall. She cursed under her breath as she heard Freddy's song start in the room, stopping suddenly._

_"Don't break the rules, kids! Cheating isn't very fun!" Freddy's voice boomed. Diantha gritted her teeth as the rest of the animatronics went on the offensive, seeking her out._

_"Let's play hide and seek! Come out come out wherever you are!" Bonnelby said as it wandered around the party room. Diantha kept her back to the wall, trying to stay in the shadows, as she made her way to the lobby. The kitchen opened up suddenly, and she quietly gasped when Torchica stepped out. The yellow animatronic stared at her briefly before turning away and joining Bonnelby in the search as Foxy darted around._

_"What the?" Diantha mouthed, not daring to make a sound. She ignored it for the time being as Freddy appeared in the hallway she had just come from, but thankfully, it didn't seem to see her yet. She held her breath and made her way to the front door as fast as she could, reaching into her pocket to grab her keys._

_"Screw the clock, I'm getting out of here." She whispered quietly as she held the key up to the door. She screamed when something grabbed her shoulder and turned her around, Bonnelby holding onto her firmly._

_"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" It screamed in her face as the rest of the animatronics appeared._

_"No! No let go of me! Let me go!" Diantha screamed as Torchica grabbed her right arm while Bonnelby roughly grabbed her left. Diantha cried out in pain as Bonnelby tightened its grip, an audible crack signaling a broken arm. Both animatronics picked her up and began to carry her away, her keys sitting just a few inches away from the door._

_Diantha continued to kick and scream as the animatronics carried her to the back room, where all of the extra animatronic parts were kept. Bonnelby knocked down the endoskeleton that was sitting on the table and threw Diantha onto it. Foxy rushed in and slammed its hook down around Diantha's neck, pinning her to the table while it laughed maniacally._

_"No! No please! Please I don't want to die!" Diantha screamed, using her right hand to push against Foxy's hook, but the effort was futile. Freddy, Bonnelby, and Torchica walked carefully around the room, grabbing various parts of a Freddy Ursa costume, closing in on her. Diantha panted and shook as they started to bring the costume parts close, and the camera panned away just as she started to scream over the sound of light splashing._

_The next morning, Mr. Monemunch arrived at the pizzeria along with the chefs. Upon opening the door, he raised a curious brow at the sight of a set of keys on the floor. With an irritated sigh, he bent down and picked up the keys, grumbling about lazy guards. The group made their way inside, and Monemunch stopped at the sight of the animatronics. It was hard to see on Freddy and Bonnelby's darker colored suits, but he could clearly see some sort of dark substance on Torchica's hands. Upon approaching the animatronic Torchic, he poked a finger at the substance, rubbing the red liquid between his thumb and index fingers. With a grimace, he turned to the back room, and made his way over to it. He opened the door, and was greeted with a sight he had seen all too often._

_On the table sat a Freddy Ursa. Bones were visible in most of the joints of the costume, and blood that had seeped from all of them had begun to dry. The head of the costume was perhaps the worst of the display, a set of intact, fully-toothed jaws sitting behind the teeth of the costume. From the eyeholes, a pair of bloodshot, vibrant blue eyes hung out by the nose of the costume, held in place by their stretched out optic nerves._

_"Poor girl. She almost made it, stupid corporate, enforcing that damn contract clause." Monemunch said with a sigh, retreating from the room. He made his way down the left hall to the office, shaking his head at the sight of Diantha's coffee cup and coffee pot on the desk. With pursed lips, he pulled open the drawer that had the phone inside and picked up the receiver, dialing a phone number._

_"Hey Jones. Yeah, yeah the girl got caught. The bots got some blood on them this time. Yeah, call Rudy and get over here to help me clean up. Great, thanks." Monemunch said, hanging up. He began to dial on the phone again, waiting for a few seconds._

_"Messages retrieved, press one to replay, press two to set a delay." Said a mechanical voice on the phone. Monemunch pressed the two button, and then began to fiddle with other buttons on the dial pad. His job done, he set the receiver down and pushed the drawer back in, leaving the office and entering the closet to grab some cleaning supplies._

_"Hey cooks, when you're done in there, come out and help me clean up over here, our janitors will be here in half an hour but we can't let this blood set in." Monemunch said as he set some of the cleaning supplies by the stage._

_"Damn monsters, I'm warning you. If you keep doing this, I will find 'him', and call him back to finish what he started. You're on borrowed time." He sneered at the animatronics. Freddy, Bonnelby, and Torchica glared at him, but Monemunch simply flipped them off as he grabbed a bucket, a bottle of detergent, and a sponge and made his way into the back room._

_"Sorry girlie, I did the best I could to help. The big wigs wouldn't let me give ya a weapon or anything, or warn ya about what the job is all about. The old man's phone calls are the best I could do, but I guess it wasn't enough. Don't worry though, I've had enough of this crap. After I get the place cleaned up and give ya a proper burial, I'll go find the guy responsible for the haunting, and have him do what corporate is too stupid to do. You and the old guards just sit tight and laugh it up." Monemunch said as he scrubbed away._

As soon as the scene faded to black, and the credits began to play over "El Toreador", I quickly shut the TV off, staring at the blank screen with wide eyes.

"Well, that was….unsettling." I said.

"Ohgosh, it took its sweet time to set the mood, but boy howdy was the buildup worth it! I wonder if those animatronics were real!?" Celeste said excitedly.

"_I sincerely doubt it. Building fully functional robots like that would take an obscene amount of people, time, effort, and trial-and-error to pull off for the sake of a movie. Even my creation took around two years with a full team of scientists, and I still wasn't fully functional when only Colress was left to finish the project._" Genny said through the tablet.

"I bet they used Zoroark for the animatronic scenes. They'd be more convincing than a costumed human and Diantha wouldn't have to work as hard to emote properly like if they were just CGI." I added, crossing my arms.

"Well, it was a cool movie all around, I hope they do the sequels at some point." Celeste said, laying back.

The rest of the night was fairly uneventful. Celeste and I just talked with Genny and shared more stories of our experiences until we got too tired to focus. With Genny in sleep mode between the two beds, Celeste and I laid back and tried to relax. I grinned as I heard Celeste gasp every so often, jumping at every little sound. Hilarious though it was to see her scared of a movie, at least she wasn't focused on the Reapers anymore.

And for that, I was grateful.

* * *

TBC

Hey look! Guess who's not dead? I was staying at my mom's for the last few weeks, and you know how I get easily distracted…. Get a drink guys, this is gonna be a long one.

I have no regrets. I LOVE the FNAF series and I was looking forward to doing a pokemon version of it for a while now. Admittedly, I'm not terribly happy with how this fanfic-within-a-fanfic came out in comparison to "8 Pages", but the FNAF game is more or less LONGER than the original Slender was, and there's much more to it, and it is super long as it is. I had to cut out some elements and leave out parts I wanted to have, so it may not seem as unsettling as the Poke-movie of Lola did. I hope you enjoyed it anyway. ^^ And Freddy's jingle came from Markiplier and Random Encounter's FNAF collab. XD

So, I wanna talk to you guys about the direction the story is going to take. I'm sure that by now, you guys are aware of the teasers for next year's movie and Mega Evolution Act 4. If you're not, first of all, get out from under that rock lol, and there is a new pokemon that has been teased relentlessly ever since the Hoopa movie came out. That's got very little to do with LDR as of right now, right now, I'm more focused on the OTHER pokemon that has been discussed in these teasers, Zygarde.

As we all know, Game Freak has been falling into a pattern with their legendary trios, and as of late, the third member of the trio that has no focus will invariably have an alternate form that is somewhat more powerful than the introductory mascot legends. That happened with Giratina, Kyurem, recently Rayquaza, and I don't expect Zygarde will be any different. Already, there is evidence that Zygarde will have at least one new form (what else could that gargantuan shadowed thing be?! What the hell IS that thing?). What does this have to do with LDR? Well, everything, actually, the title is a double entendre, and one of the meanings refers to the legends. Life (Xerneas), Death (Yveltal), Rebirth (Zygarde) will involve all three in some form or another, but I'm a bit conflicted about how to incorporate Zygarde, so I'd like your opinions. Do you want me to stall out the fanfic in time for Gen 6's third version to tell us what Zygarde's role in its trio is and what abilities it has, or would you rather me use Zygarde as it is now, and then incorporate whatever new powers it gets in a sequel?

I know, it's kind of bold for me to assume we'll be near the end of LDR by then, but I'm just trying to keep my options open. The beauty of the Underdog series is that the plots don't have fixed points, I have an idea of how I want things to go, but it's so flexible that getting there is a mystery. Who knows exactly where we will be when Z/X2 Y2 comes out. We won't be terribly far if it ends up coming next spring, though I doubt that since Super Mystery Dungeon seems to be the main focus (it's a near-2 gig game, they're putting a TON of work into it), but if it ends up coming out fall next year, well, I'm not so sure on where we will be by then. Yes, Lola took nearly 3 years to write but I don't intend on making LDR wait that long to finish.

This isn't a vote, I'm not asking you guys to take up arms and kill each other so the victor can tell me where to go. I just want your opinions on what YOU would do if you were in this position, and I'll figure out a solution from there.

In the meantime, I'll just keep on keeping on, and start up the story proper again.

See you guys in chapter 21. ^^

EDIT: Holy crap this is so long. This has to be the highest word count in the series yet!

EDIT 2: Oops, I did not mean to leave that *banging throughout the call* thing, that was a note to me so that I could pace the call. I promise I'm not that lazy XD.


	22. Chapter 21: The Obligatory Fetch Quest

_Darkness, a pulsating darkness. That was all I could see for the longest time. Out of this darkness, a strange shape that I could not make out approached me. It weaved and bobbed, dancing around me. I twirled around to try and keep it in my sight._

_"Who are you?" I asked it._

_"Why is it that dreams are so different from reality? What is it that makes them harder to enter than the awakened mind?" Said the same voice that had been guiding me._

_"You are the one I've been hearing. Who ARE you?" I asked again. The shape stopped in front of me, rumbling softly._

_"Unfortunately, I am out of time. Do not fear my presence, I wish only to help." The voice said, pulling away._

_"Wait! But, I have so many questions! Why can't you just tell me who you are!?" I yelled, running after the shape. It stopped for a moment, as though contemplating._

_"It is too soon, and it requires a lot of effort to communicate from so far away. We will meet one day, and I will answer all of your questions then. Until that time, I will guide you. Now please, wake up." The voice said. As soon as it finished, I felt something pull me away from the shape._

_"Wait! Wait please!"_

"WAIT!" I screamed, bolting upright. I looked around, seeing I was back in the hotel room, with everyone looking at me worriedly.

"Brai?" Sabrina asked, placing her paw on my shoulder.

"It's okay Aldith, it was just a dream." Celeste said, sitting on the bed beside me. Genny beeped as she stomped over, tilting her head.

"_We have been trying to wake you for awhile now, are you alright?_" Genny asked. I took slow, deep breaths as I processed everything that happened, glancing at Celeste briefly before turning to Genny.

"Um, Genny, I, I have something to talk about with Celeste, and it might sound crazy. Do you promise not to tell Colress or anyone else?" I asked. Genny nodded and stepped back from the bed.

"_It's not my place to question your sanity. If you become concerned about it and want my help I will give it to you, but you seem to have a firm grip on reality. I will not intervene._" She replied. I smiled and nodded at her, turning to Celeste.

"I, I saw it. I saw the owner of the voice that has been talking to me, Celeste. It was talking to me again." I told her. Celeste's eyes widened as she pulled herself completely onto the bed, sitting cross-legged in front of me.

"Woooow! What did it look like? What did it say? What's it doing?" She asked excitedly.

"Woah woah woah, slow down there. I couldn't really make out what it was. Everything was black, and I could only see it when it was moving, but it wasn't distinctive. I couldn't make out the shape." I explained with a sigh.

"Well, did it tell you what it was?" Celeste asked. I shook my head as Nylass crawled into my lap, purring in an attempt to make me feel better.

"No, it just complained about how hard it was to break into my dream, and then told me that it is really tasking to speak to me from over a distance." I explained, making Celeste snort.

"Yeah well, it could still have the courtesy to tell you who it is. It's almost like they don't WANT us to know who they are." Celeste complained with a groan. I chuckled as I scratched Nylass behind her ears.

"Well, mine at the very least says I will get to meet it at some point. I mean, it makes sense that if it takes so much effort on its part to talk to me, it would only say things to try and help me. I mean, look at Sabrina here. You and I know how wiped out she gets when she tries to talk to us." I said, looking at my Braixen. Sabrina blinked at me as Celeste huffed.

"Yeah well if I don't get names soon, I'm gonna name them myself, and I'll stick them with something stupid like Snugglebutt or Foofykins." Celeste said, making me snort.

"Celeste, you are NOT going to name a pokemon Snugglebutt or Foofykins. If you do that, I will set you on fire." I said in mock-authority. Celeste just grinned as she crossed her arms.

"Well then they better give us names. And how do you know it's a pokemon that's talking to us?" Celeste asked, raising a brow at me.

"Because even the humans documented with telepathy have a limited range, and this voice implies it is much, much farther away. Now, enough screwing around, shall we get breakfast and head out?" I asked, looking in Lavier's direction. The Charmeleon smirked at me as he turned around, showing he was cooking something in a skillet over his tail.

After breakfast, we got dressed and packed up, recalling all of the pokemon except for Sasha and Boomer. I clutched Genny's pokeball tightly, ready to call her out at a moment's notice, as Celeste and I left the room. Upon checking out of the hotel and exiting, I heard Celeste take a sharp breath. With my free hand, I reached down and ensnared hers, and she clung to my hand tightly as though her life depended on it.

"So, where should we start?" I asked, trying to get her mind off of her worries.

"Huh? With what? Are…we going to try and find the Reapers?" Celeste asked nervously. My lips twitched in a slight smile as I tightened my grip on her hand.

"No, we're outnumbered and outmatched. I meant on that assignment the professor wants us to do. You know, the Mega Evolution research?" I said. Celeste blinked as she tried to remember, her eyes brightening as she came to it.

"Oh right! Um, hmm, I guess we just walk up to somebody and ask?" She suggested, pulling us towards a woman.

"Wait, Celeste!" I hissed in vain as we stopped.

"Hi! We're helping out Professor Sycamore with some of his research! Do you know where we might be able to learn about Mega Evolution around here?" She blurted. The woman smiled apologetically and shrugged.

"Well, that is some pretty advanced stuff for this little town. I always assumed that Mega Evolution was reserved for the upper class folk, like the Elite Four." She said. I shot a look at Celeste before I turned to the stranger and smiled warmly at her.

"Well, thanks anyway, we'll just try a bigger town." I said, starting to turn away.

"Wait! Camphrier Town is small, true, but we're not without our upper crust. Perhaps Lord Shabbaneau will know something about it. The Shabbaneau family has been here for several generations, so if it's a story you're looking for, they're the ones to tell you. Shabbaneau Castle is North of here." She said, pointing away from us.

"Thank you ma'am! We'll go ahead and go ask. Let's go Aldith!" Celeste said, dragging me away. The woman chuckled as we ran away from her, and I tried to dig my heels into the ground to stop my friend.

"What's with you? Can't you at least TRY to control your mood swings?" I snapped. Celeste grinned cheekily at me as she pulled us over to Shabbaneau Castle. I was surprised by how little it actually looked like a castle. Though the walls were made of polished stones, the roofs on it were updated with shiny, bright blue shingles. I started to cross the drawbridge when Celeste stopped.

"Hey Aldith, look at that!" She chirped. I rolled my eyes as I followed her line of sight, looking into the shallow moat. I tilted my head curiously at the creature she stared at. It was hard to see clearly in the water, but it reminded me of a Dunsparce.

"_Pokemon not found._" Said the monotone of the pokedex. I blinked as I looked up at Celeste, who was frowning at her pokedex.

"What does that mean? What is it?" She said, her eyes glazing over slightly as her grip became weak.

'_Move on and move quickly. Danger is still near, but not from the creature you see._' Said the voice with more urgency than I think it intended.

"Noibat?" Boomer asked as I snapped out of my thoughts. He hovered in front of me, clutching Genny's pokeball tightly in his feet while Sasha held onto Celeste's pokedex. I smiled at the pair as I took the pokeball back, clutching it even tighter as Boomer landed. I heard Celeste sigh, and turned to see her putting her pokedex away with a smile on her face.

"Well, it's not quite a pokemon, but supposedly, it's lucky if we encounter whatever it is. We have to leave it alone though, or we get baaaaad luck ooooo." Celeste said with a stupid grin. I rolled my eyes at her as I reached up to pet Boomer, wondering if she had gotten a similar warning. If she did, she didn't show she was concerned about it. Regardless, I knew better than to ignore the voice, and it was in our best interest to get going.

"Come on." I said, waltzing over to the door. I hesitated at the wide-open entrance, uncertain if it was really okay to just walk right in.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Celeste asked. I frowned as I crossed my arms, my fingers clasped tightly around Genny's pokeball.

"Do we just, walk in?" I asked. Celeste opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the appearance of a well-dressed, middle-aged man.

"Indeed, madam. Shabbaneau Castle is open to all visitors. The lord wishes to share the historical knowledge his family has accumulated through the ages with anyone who wishes to know, and feels an open house is the best way to invite people." He said warmly.

"But, what about the Reapers? Surely he doesn't want to risk exposure to them?" I asked, biting my lip softly. The man chuckled at me and shook his head.

"We are well protected should our visitors attack, but our knowledge is open to all who want it. Now then, may I ask the reason for your visit, ladies?" He said, folding his hands behind his back.

"Actually, we're glad he's so open with his knowledge, because we wanna ask about Mega Evolution. Can we meet him?" Celeste said sweetly. The man smiled back at her as he bobbed his head.

"Certainly, but, before you do, I noticed those Noibat on your heads and your pokeballs. Are you by chance, pokemon trainers?" He asked hopefully.

"Yes, but we only have one badge each. Why do you ask?" I replied. The man's eyes brightened as he visibly cheered up.

"Oh thank goodness. And fear not, one badge is still a testament to your growing strength. You see, I have a favor to ask of you. Should you fulfill it, I'll gladly escort you to Lord Shabbaneau." He said. My eyes narrowed suspiciously at him as I stepped closer between him and Celeste.

"What sort of favor?" I asked. He beamed as he quickly shook his head at me.

"Please do not be suspicious, it is merely a fetch quest. You see, our neighbors to the west, they are rivals of Lord Shabbaneau. They do not share his sense of generosity. The last time Count Parfum was here, he stole one of Lord Shabbaneau's artifacts." The man said.

"And you didn't ask the police because?" I asked, raising my brow.

"I assure you, I have, but with those scoundrels running around, they have their hands full for a mere dispute between neighbors, even affluent ones. Lord Shabbaneau is not the type of man to flaunt his wealth to get what he wants. I would go myself to deal with this matter, but I am a simple butler. I own no pokemon of my own and I'd rather not take any from my master as they are his only means of protection." He said, sounding almost sad or frightened.

"I'm sorry, but I—" I began.

"What is it we're retrieving, exactly?" Celeste piped, pushing me aside slightly and interrupting. I gave her a dirty look as the butler smiled at her.

"It is his prized Poke Flute. It is an incredibly rare artifact that is one of the few things capable of waking up a Snorlax or a Munchlax, and this flute has been in the family for generations. It used to be on an open display in one of the rooms, and guests were allowed to play it." He said with a faint smile.

"Uh, that is, incredibly nice of him?" I said, casting a glance at Celeste. The butler cleared his throat in acknowledgement as he continued.

"Count Parfum, his greed knows no bounds. He believes that if he sees it, it belongs to him, and everyone else is simply borrowing it. Will you help?" The butler asked, almost pleading with us like we were his only hope. Celeste grabbed my hand and pulled me back, smiling sweetly at him.

"Can you give us a minute to talk about it?" She said, not waiting for his answer as she pulled us a few feet away.

"Celeste, we can't do it. It's too dangerous, we need to move on and fast." I hissed at her.

"Normally, I'd agree. I'm no fan of the rich and entitled, and if this was just some feud between families I'd be fine with staying out of it. Pride is one thing, but family is another. What if someone stole something that was important to you or your family? Even if it was something as replaceable as a pokeball?" She hissed back. I opened my mouth to respond, but froze as what she said clicked. When she mentioned a pokeball being precious,I thought back to Vixen. Lola's pokeball was everything to her, it meant just as much as Lola herself. That pokeball was her mother's legacy, and I remembered hearing about how angry she was when Marlon had stolen it. And that picture I saw my mother holding when I came home, the one of our family before Dad left. What sort of fit would my mother throw if someone took that from her? It was all she had left of the family she had lost, I could see her fighting to keep it to her last breath.

I closed my eyes for a moment, briefly wondering if the voice would give me a hint on this one. I didn't really need it though, I knew exactly what I was going to do now that I thought it over. With a sigh I opened my eyes and looked at Celeste tiredly.

"Damn it Celeste, I hate it when you're right. Let's do it." I said. Celeste grinned at me as she turned to the butler.

"So where does this thief live? We'll go beat'em up for you and get your flute back!" She chirped at him, making me groan inwardly. The butler looked taken aback at her comment, blinking rapidly at her as he shook his head.

"Oh dear, please do refrain from violence when dealing with the Count. I want no more trouble for my master, you must understand." He said worriedly. I elbowed Celeste and dipped my head to the butler in respect.

"Don't worry, she's not serious. Celeste has a tendency to let her mouth run. Now, where can we find this Poke Flute?" I asked. The butler visibly relaxed, quickly regaining his composure as he cleared his throat again.

"Very well then, you must take the Western gate out of town and walk the path until you get to their road. It shall be the first path on the right, and you just keep going until you get to Parfum Palace." He said. I gave him a curt nod and a soft smile, turning to walk away.

"We'll be back soon! Wait for me, Aldith!" Celeste said, running after me.

As we made our way out of Camphrier Town and started down the path, I couldn't help but groan at what we had managed to get ourselves into. A dispute between some rich folk doesn't really concern me enough to go out of my way.

"Why did we agree to do this again? The intel isn't that juicy I imagine, and it's kinda risky even for a family heirloom." I said, glancing at Genny's pokeball.

"Yeah well, I like being helpful, and since we don't know ANYTHING about Mega Evolution, anything we can learn is great. Look, we're already there. We shouldn't run into too much trouble here, right?" Celeste asked as she started down the path to Parfum Palace.

"Careful, Celeste. Famous last words alert." I said, reaching up to stroke Boomer.

"Psh, you still worry too much. We'll be fine." She said dismissively. As nice as it was to see she was no longer hysterical about the Reapers, I wish she would be a little more cautious.

Then again, caution was thrown to the wind as we approached Parfum Palace. The sheer size of it dwarfed Shabbaneau Castle, looking every bit as much as it's namesake. It was guarded by a thick, white brick and metal fence, and I had the feeling the metal was real gold. The golden gates on the front had an intricate pattern honoring Xerneas, and the man in front of the gates looked like someone I would not want to anger. With a look to Celeste, I made my way up to the man and nodded my head curtly.

"Good afternoon, sir. Might I speak with Count Parfum?" I asked. The man narrowed his eyes at me in a way that suggested I offended him.

"For what purpose would a mere commoner like you need to speak to my lord? You may enter to admire his treasures, but you will have to pay a one thousand poke fee, and you will most certainly NOT harass my master with your insignificant qualms." He said in the snootiest way I had ever heard anyone speak.

"But, we're here on behalf of Lord Shabbaneau! We think that something of his is in here by mistake." Celeste chirped at him. The man rounded on Celeste with an angry look.

"How dare you!? Everything that lies within Parfum Palace belongs to Count Parfum. That little do-gooder wannabe Shabbaneau needs to accept that. You go back and tell him to stop sending us common trash to retrieve a gift he gave to my master." The man snarled. Celeste yelped as she shrunk back, and as I moved to react Sasha beat me to it, flying off Celeste's head and throwing a Gust at the man. She hissed at him, keeping herself firmly between the man and Celeste. I smirked, turning to him and crossing my arms.

"This isn't the end of it, you know. I don't know what sort of delusions your master fed you, but that flute was stolen and you know it. You've got one hour to return it, or there will be real problems for you. Let's go Celeste. Sasha, he's not worth it, come on." I said, turning around and walking back down the path. I could almost feel the daggers of his glare digging into my back, but I didn't particularly care at the moment.

"Um, what are we gonna do to him if they don't meet your demands?" Celeste asked, running up beside me. I grinned at her as I stopped at the top of grassy hill. At the bottom, there were patches of tall grass, arranged in a way that created a sort of maze. I sat down in the grass and pulled Boomer off of my head, laying back to look up at the sky.

"I have a few ideas, mainly going in and stealing it back. Whatever security system they've got, Genny can crack, and I will go in and steal it and return it to Shabbaneau. The guy may have asked us to bring the flute back, but he never specified HOW he wanted it returned." I said with a cheeky grin. Celeste sat down beside me, staying uncharacteristically silent, and we enjoyed each other's company.

"So, what are we gonna do now? Wanna watch TV?" She asked after awhile. I hummed as I looked at Boomer, the Noibat staring at me curiously, and I smiled.

"Well, you can if you want, but I think I wanna work on Dragon Pulse. And maybe see if I can teach anyone else some new moves while I'm at it." I said, sitting up and setting Boomer in the grass. I glanced around the grass, deciding on where the tallest patch would be, and tossed Genny's pokeball at it. The cybernetic pokemon beeped curiously, and she turned around and stared at me.

"UNABLE TO DETERMINE LOCATION. NO THREATS DETECTED. REASON FOR SUMMONING IS UNCERTAIN." She said in her robotic monotone.

"Heh?" Celeste asked, thoroughly confused. I chuckled at her as I grabbed the rest of my pokeballs.

"She's confused about why she's out because we're not in immediate danger. Genny, we're in a grassland outside of a douchebag's house. I'm gonna need your help to steal back something they stole if they don't return it soon. You good with that?" I asked. Genny didn't react at first, which was odd because she was supposed to be able to process information quickly.

"MORALITY OF REQUEST IS QUESTIONABLE. FEELINGS ABOUT IT IRRELEVANT, REQUEST ACCEPTED." She said, wandering into the grass. I snickered after her, throwing all of my pokeballs into the air to call out the rest of my pokemon.

During this break, I worked with my pokemon to help them learn new attacks. While Boomer was still having some trouble with Dragon Pulse, he and Sasha did manage to pick up Air Cutter while she was trying to teach him Gust. Sabrina and Lavier didn't have much luck in learning Flamethrower, but Sabrina did manage to get Fire Spin. Nylass started working on Fire Fang, though she would need a lot of practice to make it into something dependable. While we trained, Celeste decided to try and find a new pokemon to add to her team. While she had no luck in finding a pokemon to catch, all of her battling graced Angora with Cotton Spore, which I was all too happy to have in case we got chased again.

Thirty minutes into the time I gave the guard, Genny suddenly burst out of her grass patch. Her eyes were flashing and her cannon was humming, ready to be fired. Celeste gasped and was instantly at my side, our pokemon forming a protective circle around us and keeping an eye out for danger.

"What's coming?" I asked, my body tensing up. Genny continued to beep, keeping her cannon armed.

"SCANNING. SENSORS INDICATE A LARGE GROUP OF SMALL POKEMON STAMPEDING IN THIS DIRECTION. CAUSE OF STAMPEDE UNKNOWN." Genny said, making me nervous since she hadn't tried to call us.

"Where are they coming from? Can we run?" I asked.

"PROCESSING, SEVENTY THREE PERCENT OF THE STAMPEDE IS COMING FROM THE WEST. ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL: FIVE MINUTES. DETECTING ANOMLY IN AIR QUALITY. SCANNING. AIR ANALYSIS COMPLETE. SUGGESTED COURSE OF ACTION: RETREAT." Genny said, stepping in front of me and Celeste quickly.

"Genny, what did you smell? Is it…blood?" I asked, taking a step back.

"AFFIRMATIVE. SUGGESTED COURSE OF ACTION: RETREAT." She repeated. With a nod, I grabbed my pokeballs and held them out towards my pokemon.

"Alright then, everyone but Boomer, return!" I said, calling everyone back while Boomer landed on my head.

"Sasha, you stay out too. Let's go, Aldith!" Celeste said, grabbing my arm and pulling me away. I heard a mechanical whirring, and suddenly Genny was flying ahead of us. We ran through the grass and on seeing the gates of Perfume Palace, I pulled Celeste to it. The guard from before glared at us, and took out a pokeball.

"Genny, ram that gate!" I told her.

"So, you've come back! I'll teach you not to-GYAH!" He said, leaping out of the way as Genny slammed into the gates, pushing them open and allowing us to run through. Temped as I was to leave him, I let Celeste go and we grabbed the guard's arms, dragging him into the gate as well.

"Quickly, we need to get that closed!" I said, dropping the guard's arm to grab a gate. Celeste joined me on the other side, and with the help of our Noibats, we got the gate closed, and Genny braced herself against it to keep it from opening again.

"What in the world?! How dare you! I will call the police! I will call the guard pokemon! I will—" The man started raving, only for Celeste to turn on him.

"How about you be grateful for us saving your life? You are heavy, you were squirming, and despite your charming personality, we risked our necks to save yours, so shut up and let us think. Give back the flute while you are at it too." Celeste snarled, making me blink in surprise.

"You've had enough of this, haven't you?" I asked. Celeste gave me a tired, somewhat sad look, and I smiled comfortingly back at her as the guard glared.

"Well I never!" He growled. I rolled my eyes

"Yeah, we know. You never learned manners. Now hush, the grownups are talking. Genny, do you see anything out there?" I asked. Genny beeped at me in response as she slowly got up, turning her head to look through the bars.

"NEGATIVE. THREAT LOCATION MOVING SOUTH." She responded. I sighed in relief as I sat down, laying back. Closing my eyes, I tuned out the sound of the guard and Celeste arguing so that I could try and concentrate on figuring out our next move. Even if we wanted to, we couldn't just sit in the gates of Parfume Palace forever.

'_While it is good to value your own life, the lives of others may be just as valuable, and in far more danger. Do you believe this? Are you willing to put yourself at risk to go southeast?_' The voice said, ending with a thoughtful question. I blinked up at the sky, confused at first. I knew this voice would never lead me astray, but I thought it was something of an omniscient, undeniable guide. I thought it would only talk to me when it wanted me to do something without question.

To give me the option to follow it though, to make my own decision instead of letting it determine what I do when I hear it, that was oddly comforting, and made me trust it a little bit more. To that end, if someone was in danger and it wanted me to help them, then who am I to deny that help?

"Celeste, we need to go back out there." I said, sitting up. She groaned and shook her head at me, cracking her eyes open to look at me tiredly.

"Why? Can't we wait until it's all clear?" She asked. I chuckled as I stood up and dusted myself off.

"We could, but I don't think anyone needing our help out there would appreciate it. Don't you want to come with me?" I asked her, holding a hand out. She blinked slowly at me, a smile creeping along her face as she took my hand. I pulled her up onto her feet and turned to the guard with a glare.

"We won't worry about him, let's get going." Celeste said, rotating her shoulders. I nodded as I turned to Genny, who moved away from the gate.

"Alright, we're heading Southeast. Be on guard Genny, things might get ugly." I said, pulling open the gate and rushing out.

* * *

TBC

It's been way, way too long. So much has happened since I last updated, and things are only going to get more complicated from here. Mom got hospitalized for a grand mal seizure, Dad died on December 21st unexpectedly, and everything has been a roller coaster of chaos and uncertainty for me in the wake of my father's death. I'm struggling to get by until I can get my social security stuff sorted out so that I can start supporting myself.

As far as the story goes, I am on very, very limited internet right now, and am trying to clean up the house that my father passed away in. I will work on the story when I take breaks from all the cleaning, but I don't think I'll be able to resume the schedule for right now.

For right now, you can ponder what Aldith and Celeste are rushing off to save. ;)

And find out in 22.


	23. Chapter 22: Damsel in Distress

"This is awful. Why would anyone do this?"

In the years I served in Team Plasma, death and destruction was just a part of life. Seeing lives cut short and families torn apart was nothing new to me, but even at his worst, Ghetsis was never this bad. I held onto Celeste's hand tightly as we walked through the broken trees to find whoever it was the voice wanted us to rescue. Trees that weren't scorched were a deep, dark crimson, the smell of blood overpowering my nose. We tread carefully, mostly out of fear that whatever created this would come back. Celeste gasped and stopped, and I turned to see her eyes welling up with tears.

"Celeste?" I asked softly.

"SCANNING: LIFE SIGNS DETECTED. COURSE OF ACTION: INTERVENTION." Genny said as Celeste pointed ahead. I followed her finger to see a rather heartbreaking sight. I was less shocked by the tree that had been torn in half, and more appalled by the patches of blue and white fur that laid at the foot of the newly made stump. There was a small form standing close by, it's lavender fur looking matted, while it stared into the stump with wide eyes,

"Stay here." I whispered to Celeste, approaching the pokemon carefully.

"Hey little Espurr, are you okay?" I asked it gently. The Espurr turned to me, staring at me with empty eyes. Its ears twitched, causing me to stop for a brief moment, but I decided to push my luck and take another step forward. Espurr narrowed its eyes at me and hissed, opening its ears. I yelped as a massive psychic blast threw me backwards, Celeste crying out in shock as Genny flew to catch me.

"Are you okay?!" Celeste asked. I groaned as I pulled myself off of Genny, reaching over my shoulder to try and rub my back.

"I'm fine. Celeste, be careful, Espurr can be very dangerous when their ears flip up, and that one is very scared. I know you don't like this, but I need you to be strong, help me calm it down, okay?" I asked as I opened my eyes. To my surprise, Celeste was already cradling the Espurr, who sniffled into her chest. I blinked incredulously, smiling at Celeste as I walked over to them. As I got closer, my smile faded when I noticed tears from Celeste and Sasha as they stared into the stump.

"A-Aldith..." Celeste whimpered. I furrowed my brow at Celeste, leaning over her shoulder to look at what they were staring at. I gasped in horror and cupped a hand over my mouth, feeling tears of my own well up in my eyes.

"Celeste, we need to go. Don't look at it Celeste, just, get up. Bring Espurr with us, there's nothing left for it here." I said, reaching down to grab Celeste's arm. She began to sob as she hugged Espurr tighter.

"They did this, didn't they? The Reapers...why are they doing this?! What do they have to gain from taking everything from Mitsy?! What's wrong with these people?!" Celeste screamed, hugging the pokemon tighter. I frowned as I knelt down beside her, pulling Celeste and the Espurr close to hug them both.

"So, Mitsy huh? Is that what you are going to call Espurr?" I asked, trying to cheer Celeste up. She just sniffled as she hugged her pokemon, and I briefly looked up to see Boomer trying to comfort Sasha. With a frown, I continued to hold onto my friend, desperate to help her but unsure of how.

'_Even I am at a loss for what to do here. I am not exactly the type of entity to know how to help others cope with exposure to this. You and I accept it for what it is, but that is little comfort to those who do not understand the value of death._' The voice said, making my eyes twitch. There was nothing valuable about what happened here, nothing to gain from forcing Mitsy to watch her mother, father, and unborn sibling suffer a horrendous fate.

'_I never said there was, forgive me if I implied it. I was merely referring to your earlier statement about death being a necessary part of life. Not everyone sees it that way, and they hate death because of the loss that comes with it. The best advice I can give you to help your friend take her mind off of this, is to keep pushing forward on your quest. Your help is still needed at the river outside of this glade._' The voice said gently, filling me with an apologetic aura. I inhaled deeply and let out my breath slowly, pulling away from Celeste.

"Celeste, please. We have to go, we need to keep going." I told her. She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head quickly, moving Mitsy up so she could hide her mouth on top of her head.

I had to get her out of here. We needed to get away from this place as quickly as possible. I gritted my teeth as I looked for a way out that had the least amount of blood, but everywhere I looked would do nothing but help burn the memory of what happened here into Celeste's mind. I looked helplessly at Celeste, hearing a small squeak above me. Boomer had much more success calming his sister down than I had with Celeste, and both Noibat were staring expectantly at us. I narrowed my eyes at them, gesturing for them to come down. I reached out to Sasha, pulling her close enough so that I could whisper into her ear. She nodded, and flew out of my hands to perch on Celeste's head, wrapping her wings around her eyes. Celeste said nothing as I pulled her to her feet, holding onto her hand tightly so I could lead her out.

Upon exiting the trees, I took a deep breath and watched the river flow, untouched by the carnage behind us. I smiled as I pulled Celeste towards it, tugging on her hand to make her come closer. I let go of her hand and wrapped my arm around her shoulder, the sounds of Genny's footsteps behind us and the rushing water easing us into a comfortable air.

"We're out now, it's going to be okay." I told her. Celeste sniffled as Sasha pulled her wings away, and I grimaced at seeing Celeste's puffy blue eyes bore into mine.

"Aldith...Did Team Plasma do stuff like this? Have you, ever killed anyone?" She asked, making me stiffen. Hell of a question to hear, especially from someone like her.

"I-I've come close to it on more than one occasion. I wasn't a grunt for very long so I've very rarely had to get my hands dirty myself but I know my way around a knife, and where the most effective places to stab are. I've probably crippled a few people and pokemon though." I answered, letting her go and stopping. Celeste took a few steps forward and stopped, turning around to look at me.

"Aldith?" She asked tentatively.

"I was not a nice person when I was in Team Plasma. I've done horrible things for horrible reasons to innocent people and pokemon who never deserved it. Honestly, I don't understand why Vixen likes me at all, but ever since I realized what I was doing and just how badly I hurt people, I've done everything I could to try and make up for it. Team Plasma has never gone this far that I'm aware of, but we might as well have." I said with a sigh, squatting down and wrapping my arms around my knees. I rested my forehead on my kneecaps and gritted my teeth in frustration. I felt multiple points of light pressure on me, and looked up to see everyone resting a hand or a claw or a forearm on me.

"Well, look at the bright side. At least you're here to help me, and we saved Mitsy." She said simply, beaming at me. I smiled back as Genny beeped softly.

"SCANNING. SCAN COMPLETE. NO PHYSICAL HEALTH ANOMALIES DETECTED. SUGGESTED COURSE OF ACTION: CONTINUE WITH DIRECTIVE." She said, gently digging her claw into my shoulder. I had to suppress a giggle at Celeste's confused reaction, and I relaxed into Genny's knees.

"Basically, we're not hurt, so the best thing we can do is keep going." I translated. Celeste made a face like she tasted something bad and cuddled Mitsy again.

"Do we have time for me to dig out the tablet? I think I prefer her voice through that." She said, staring forlornly at her purse. I chuckled as I stood up, walking over to her and dipping my hand into her bag. I poked around the pockets until I found the tablet, pulling it out and turning it on, hugging it against my chest.

"All set Genny. Now, let's go see what's down the river. Mitsy apparently isn't who we needed to save, though I'm glad we did." I said, smiling at the purple cat pokemon. Mitsy stared at me, her eyes unreadable as well as her emotions, while Celeste nodded, turning around to start walking down the river.

"HELP!" Cried a voice.

"Speak of Yveltal, think that might be it." I said, running in the direction of the voice with Boomer bouncing on my head.

"Wait up Aldith!" Celeste cried, the sound of Genny's internal engines humming as she flew after us.

It wasn't long when we found the owner of the voice. A Snorlax was sleeping soundly on top of a wooden bridge that held up surprisingly well under its weight. Even more surprising, however, was the well-dressed man stuck underneath it. From his handlebar mustache to his crisp suit, the man oozed fancy, and I had a feeling I knew exactly who he was. Before Celeste could say anything, I allowed a smug grin to creep onto my face as I made my way over to the scene in a way that said I was in no particular rush. I knelt down in front of the gray-haired man's face and grinned at him.

"Hello, Count Parfume. In a bit of a pickle?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Ah! You there, good peasants! You simply MUST rescue me!" He saidd, his arrogance matched only by his desperation.

"How did you get under there, buddy?" I asked, stretching my arm back to let Celeste know she had to stay put. Count Parfume made a chuffing sound, as though he was in disbelief, as he stumbled over his words to form a response.

"Why, I was on my way to the Battle Chateau when I encountered this beast blocking my path! Luckily, I had my trusty Poke Flute at my home, but when I came back to play it and wake the Snorlax, I was attacked by a mob of small pokemon! One thing led to another, and I found myself trapped when Snorlax rolled on top of me! Now get it off of me!" He said, his voice cracking as it got higher pitched from desperation.

"I'll be glad to. Just pass the Poke Flute here, and I'll wake Snorlax right up." I said sweetly. Count Parfume glared at me through beady green eyes, as though I had personally offended him.

"Are you out of your mind!? You're a commoner! Who knows what sorts of diseases you are carrying? I will most certainly not hand over my family's priceless heirloom to you!" He said with a growl.

"Excuse me!? YOUR priceless-" Celeste started, only to be interrupted by my hand as I stood up.

"That's too bad. Perhaps Lord Shabbaneau will lend us his. What do you think, Celeste?" I asked with a wink. Her eyes brightened up as she figured out what I was doing, and pulled away to cross her arms.

"I dunno Aldith, didn't you hear? Someone stole his Poke Flute. I wonder if any of our pokemon could wake it up? My Flaaffy's Thundershock might wake it up." She said, making the Count gulp audibly.

"Perhaps, maybe my Braixen's Incinerate will do it too." I added, making him whimper.

"_I could always blow it away with my Techno Blast. We DID just upgrade the cannon._" Genny said, catching on and adding her own bit.

"Or we could-"

"OKAY! Okay okay I see your point! If you can get my right arm out from under Snorlax, you can have the Poke Flute back. Just please, get this thing off me I'm starting to lose feeling in my legs." Count Parfume said, interrupting me. Celeste and I exchanged grins as we got closer to Snorlax, Celeste setting Mitsy down so she could get in there with me. Count Parfume whimpered as I touched his arm, though that was likely more out of a wounded pride than any pain he felt. Genny wedged herself between Snorlax and the ground, and I heard her hydraulics strain as she pushed Snorlax back. Celeste and I groaned as we tugged the Count's arm, and when the tip of the Poke Flute was visible, a light blue aura enveloped it. With a light *pop!*, the Poke Flute came free, and Genny gently let Snorlax back down, panting with the effort of lifting him. The Poke Flute floated in the air, and I looked down to see Mitsy's eyes glowing, her ear cracked open slightly.

"Thanks Mitsy! Now we can get Snorlax up!" Celeste said, grabbing the flute. She grimaced at the mouthpiece, and with a chuckle I took the instrument from her.

"Don't worry, I'll take the risk. I've never played before though." I told her, looking at the flute uncertainly.

"I have, face me and do what I do." She said, moving her hands in front of her like she was holding an invisible Poke Flute. I nodded at her appreciatively and brought the flute to my mouth. I blew into it, and though I was a little shaky at first, I copied Celeste's movements, and though it probably took longer than it should have, the familiar sound of the pokemon awakening song filled the air, and Count Parfume yelped as Snorlax began to stir.

"Noibat bat!" Boomer chirped at Mitsy. As I continued to play, Mitsy opened her ears again and her eyes started to glow. A few minutes later, Snorlax was up and Count Parfume was free, twirling around happily in the air while Mitsy held him, having pulled him free from Snorlax's hold. I stopped playing and smiled at Celeste, turning to the yawning Snorlax.

"Hey there, sorry to wake you, but it's not safe here anymore. You should go find another place to rest." I said, resting a hand on its stomach. Snorlax smacked its lips, scratching at its stomach with one of it's small hands, before turning and wandering off, hopefully to a place the Reapers haven't struck yet.

"Marvelous! Simply marvelous! I simply MUST thank you girls, but first, might I have my flute back?" Count Parfume said as Mitsy let him down. I glared pointedly at him as i stuffed the flute into my bag, reaching up to pet Boomer.

"It wasn't yours to begin with, you can thank us by not taking other people's stuff." I said, crossing my arms. Count Parfume opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted when Genny's alarm began to blare.

"_Something's coming! And fast!_" Genny said through the tablet. I held the tablet in one arm and used the other to reach out to the Count, pulling him between me and Celeste while Boomer and Sasha took to the air.

"Well, what do we have here? If it isn't our new friends from yesterday." Said a familiar voice. I gritted my teeth as the band of Reapers approached us, their pack of Houndoom circling around them. To my disgust, the entire group looked like they were covered in blood, leaving little doubt in my mind on who was responsible for the mess in the glade.

"I'm only going to say this once, let us pass, or we are going to kill you. Genny, get ready." I said, adding the last part quietly to Genny. She beeped in response and got between us and the Reapers, her cannon revving. The woman chuckled as she gently stuck her arm out, the Houndoom ceasing their circling to take a fighting stance in front of her.

"Do you know who you are talking to? We do not fear death, we embrace it! Houndoom, reap what you see!" The leader cried. The pack snarled as they all converged on Genny.

"Boomer, Air Cutter! Genny, Techno Blast!" I commanded.

"Sasha, you use Air Cutter too! Mitsy, come to me!" Celeste added. Our attacks collided with the Houndoom, throwing them back into their trainers and knocking them all down for the time being. I wasted no time in throwing Count Parfume onto Genny, and we began running for Parfume Palace once more.

"Hold on tightly, Count!" I yelled as we ran.

"After them!" I heard the leader say. The Houndoom pack barked as they pursued us, and it would not be hard for them to catch up to us.

"Mitsy, what are you doing?!" Celeste cried in shock. I looked to see Mitsy had jumped out of Celeste's arms and onto Sasha, the pair flying behind us. A piercing screech caused us to stop, and to my surprise, I saw the Houndoom stunned behind us, steadily being pushed back by a pink aura that radiated from Mitsy. I grinned and turned to Celeste, grabbing her hand and pulling her back.

"They've got it, let's go." I said, running again.

Thanks to Mitsy's distraction, we put a lot of ground between us and the Reapers' Houndoom. The gates of Parfume Palace never looked so inviting like they did now, and Count Parfume was waiting out in front, Genny and an angry looking guard standing behind him. He looked positively smug, and I was worried for a moment that he was going to double cross us.

"Dear peasants, I must thank you so much for saving me from Snorlax and from those brutes. Surely, a kind-hearted aristocrat like myself can show his appreciation with a simple command, hit the dirt." He said. I was confused by his words for a moment, but something told me to listen to him. I threw myself onto the ground, pulling Celeste down with me and hugging her tightly as Count Parfume's voice boomed "FIRE!" in front of us. A massive stream of water rushed above us, narrowly missing us and slamming into the Houndoom and their trainers behind us. The Reapers screamed obscenities as the many water attacks blasted them into the air, and the low hum of many Hyper Beams was like music to my ears as the attacks interrupted the water, shooting them across the sky, sending them far away from us.

"Did...did we just get saved by an aristocratic asshole?" Celeste asked as we pulled away, standing up and dusting ourselves off as footsteps approached s.

"You did, though surely you can leave off the 'asshole' part given that I indeed saved you. Behold, the Royal Guard." Count Parfume said as he stopped in front of us, gesturing behind him. I blinked as I leaned to the side to look, gasping at the large gathering of pokemon inside the gates. The floors had pulled away, revealing pools that had multiple water pokemon in them. A line of Milotic stared straight at us, two in each pool, while behind them was a row of Gyarados.

"Wooow. No wonder the Reapers haven't attacked you until now." I said, to Count Parfume's amusement.

"Indeed. I couldn't just leave you two out there to die when you ensured my safety, so I assembled the guard and was ready to come after you, but your magnificent machine here assured me you were on your way. Is there a chance I could buy it from you?" He said. Genny snorted indignantly as she stamped over to us, and I patted her head thankfully.

"Sorry, she's not for sale. Even if Genny was my pokemon, I could never sell away my friendship with her. But, thanks for helping us anyway. I wasn't kidding about you not taking things from people though. You realize that Celeste and I COULD have just left you under that Snorlax, possibly to die to the Reapers, right?" I asked. The Count chuckled as he pinched his mustache, nodding at me.

"I am aware. My selfishness almost cost me my life. I will not take anything again, I promise. Perhaps I might stop charging people to come in as well, expand the guard by trading and whatnot." He said, making his guard sputter. Celeste and I grinned cheekily at that guard as we turned to leave.

"Well, see ya then. We need to get this flute back to Lord Shabbaneau." I said, recalling Genny into her pokeball.

"Before you go, you must come back tomorrow. I would like to properly thank you, but it will take some time." The Count said.

"Sure! We'll be here at noon. See ya then!" Celeste said, reaching up to pull Mitsy off of Sasha. She snuggled the kitten close, heaping praise on her for how brave she was fighting off our pursuers, and I turned to her with a smile.

"Sasha was awful compliant about letting Mitsy hitch a ride. Am I smelling a budding friendship?" I asked. Sasha snorted and looked away nonchalantly, a small smile appearing on her face when Celeste reached up to pet her.

"Perhaps, either way I'm glad she did. They saved our lives today. So, Mitsy, I know I kinda decided this without asking you, but are you okay traveling with us? We'll take good care of you." Celeste said, holding Mitsy out in front of her and staring the Espurr in the face. Again, Mitsy showed no emotions, but she looked towards the glade briefly, blinking at it and turning back to Celeste with a nod. Celeste grinned and pulled Mitsy back in for a hug, holding her with one arm while she used the other to get a pokeball out of her bag. She murmured her thanks into Mitsy's ear, gently pressing the pokeball on her back. Mitsy was pulled inside, and though the ball shook, she did not attempt to escape, and after the third shake, the ball clicked a successful capture for Celeste. She looked at the pokeball sadly, kissing the top of it before placing it on her belt.

"I'm glad you caught another pokemon Celeste, even if it wasn't exactly the way you intended." I said, smiling softly at her. Celeste sighed and reached up to pet Sasha, her pace slowing slightly.

"Aldith...I couldn't leave her there. That was awful, I'm going to have some truly terrible nightmares for a bit. I hope I never, ever have to catch another pokemon that way again. Two is enough." She said. I hummed and nodded in agreement, slowing my own pace down so I could walk next to her.

"Well, we have to get stronger then. I don't know about you, but this is not okay. What the Reapers are doing, it's wrong. I'm going to get stronger, and then I'm going to take the fight to them. I'm going to stop the Reapers and make sure they don't hurt anyone again." I said, clenching my hand into a tight fist.

"I'm with you Aldith. After what they did to Mitsy, what they almost did to us, I want to make sure they can't do it again too." Celeste replied, turning to me with a grin. I smiled back at her, and we grabbed each others hands, making our way back to Camphrier Town. And, thanks to Count Parfume, for the first time in awhile.

We felt safe.

* * *

TBC

Look, another chapter! I was a little conflicted on how to go about this one, I almost blew one of the big secrets here, but it's only 22, way too early for the juicy stuff still. We're getting there though. ;)

So, Count Parfume turned out to be a half-decent guy. I mean, he's still a spoiled rich guy, but at least he's more sensible than that security guard eh?

I feel bad for Mitsy though, there's a reason why I didn't go into detail about what happened to her family. Don't worry though, Mitsy's going to be fine, especially next time our duo happens to be in Lumiose. ;3

And thanks to everyone who gave their condolences in the last chapter. Honestly, I wasn't sure who all was going to come back after my super long hiatus, so seeing you guys again made me feel happy. ^^ As thanks, I'll get cranking on the next chapter right now.

See you guys in 23!


	24. Chapter 23: Royal Pains

As we made our way up to Shabboneau Castle, I passed a glance at the water under the bridge in the hope that I could maybe find that strange pokemon again, but to my disappointment it was long gone. I could have used a little luck right now, but I had more important things to worry about than some silly superstition conjured up by a crazy mood-swinger like Celeste.

"Hellooooooooo?!" Celeste called, running in the door. I sighed in exasperation and jogged in after her.

Our shoes clacked on the smooth marble tiles, echoing through the stony halls. The walls were made of a white brick, and though well-maintained, it was clear that they were old, old as the region itself. Celeste and I marveled at some of the paintings that hung on the wall while voices murmured around us, no doubt from other visitors who were already here. I bumped into something that clanked against the wall, looking down to see a massive glass box.

"Wow, get a look at this Celeste. I wonder if this is where the Poke Flute goes?" I asked, running my eyes over the gilded edges of the table the case sat on. The dark blue cushion inside the case was shimmering, and it looked so soft it might be possible to drown in it.

"Indeed, madam. Speaking of which, might I ask how the task is going? Have you done it?" Ask Shabboneau's butler as he walked up to us, hope brimming in his eyes. I smiled warmly at him as I reached into my bag, pulling out the Poke Flute and presenting it to him.

'We have. It wasn't easy, but we did manage to convince him to return it to us." I said, dipping my head respectfully.

"Marvelous! Simply marvelous! Do follow me, ladies, a deal is a deal. I will take you to my master, Lord Shabboneau, and I am certain he will tell you all you wish to know out of his kindness and gratitude." The butler said, turning away from us and briskly walking away, brimming with joy. Celeste and I glanced at each other, grinning briefly, before we followed the butler closely. He took us up a flight of stairs, and at the top made an abrupt left, walking through a door. Celeste stopped just in front of the door and held an arm out to stop me. I raised a brow at her, but she simply smiled and patted the air gently, silently telling me to stay quiet.

"The guy's royalty it's rude to barge in without the butler calling us in properly. I learned that the hard way when I went to the Battle Frontier in Sinnoh." She said with a grimace. I chuckled softly as I clutched the Poke Flute.

"I promise, Caitlin isn't nearly that bad anymore. She's all bark and no bite nowadays." I said. Celeste rolled her eyes as she straightened up.

"Well, she has a helluva bite. I'm glad she's got some self control, but she was scary back in the day." Celeste said. I couldn't help but snicker as I straightened myself out as well.

"She's got more self control than you do. I never can tell when you are going to go bouncing off the walls." I pointed out. Celeste grinned cheekily, but said nothing as the butler opened the door again and smiled at us.

"Please, come in. My master is eager to meet you." He said, stepping aside to hold the door open. With a nod, Celeste and I filed inside, and were surprised to see that we were in a bedroom. Sitting at a table that was in front of the bed, a well-dressed man with black hair stared intently at my hands, a huge smile on his face. He stood up from the chair and walked up to me quickly, his grey eyes focusing really hard at my hands. I smiled and presented the Poke Flute to him, and he seemed to be in disbelief as he took the instrument from my hands delicately, as though he expected it to disappear if he grabbed it too eagerly.

"I think that belongs to you, sir." I said. Lord Shabboneau flicked his eyes up at me briefly, turning back to his Poke Flute as he brought it up to his lips. He played a short melody on it, confirming that it was the real deal, and approached his butler.

"Please see to it that my beloved Poke Flute is cleaned and returned to it's case, Mister Vonn." He said in a smooth voice. The butler, Mister Vonn, nodded as he gently pried the instrument from his master's hands. With a bow, Vonn exited the room, leaving me and Celeste alone with Lord Shabboneau.

"So, we wanted to ask you something. I was ho-" Celeste started when the man suddenly rounded on us.

"Thank you so much! Oh darlings I can't thank you enough for returning this to me! This Poke Flute is my family's most prized possession and I was devastated when that rascal Count Parfum stole it from me, pardon the language. I do hope he wasn't too difficult to deal with." He said with shimmering eyes.

"Well, it's kind of hard to be difficult when you need help. He gladly handed it over to us when he realized our alternatives for getting that Snorlax off him were far more unpleasant. Now, can you tell us anything about Mega Evolution?" I asked. Lord Shabboneau pursed his lips as he pondered my question, scratching his chin and pacing around the room.

"Hmm, I'm not well versed in the subject, at least, not enough to be helpful I'm certain. Oh dear, I would love to give you more...Follow me, my personal library may hold the answers you seek." He said, marching past us to his bed. Celeste and I looked curiously at each other as Lord Shabboneau did something that clicked loudly, the bed sliding away to reveal a staircase. Lord Shabboneau gestured to the stairs, looking at us expectantly. Celeste took a step forward, but stopped when I grabbed her shoulder firmly.

"We're young women and you're twice our size and male. We're not going down there." I said firmly, narrowing my eyes at him. Lord Shabboneau blinked at me, looking at the stairs and back at us quickly, looking startled.

"Oh dear me! I apologize, it never occurred to me how dark it was going down. I, I um, I've no interest in-how about I just go and find the books? You may have a seat in here or sit at the table in the smaller library outside." He said, rushing down the stairs. Celeste and I stared at each other, and I slapped a hand over my mouth as we rushed to the door. We burst outside of the room and made our way to the table, sending poor Boomer and Sasha off of our heads as we cackled on our crossed arms.

We managed to compose ourselves just as Lord Shabboneau emerged from his room, carrying a scroll that looked very old and fragile. He carefully set the scroll down and unraveled it, revealing very old text under a faded drawing of a Lucario and a faceless human. I tilted my head at the image, reaching to pull the scroll closer, only to have my hand slapped away quickly, Lord Shabboneau smiling apologetically at me.

"Forgive me, but this is a very, very old document that is older than even the Royal Family. This is my family's only copy and there were less than a hundred of these made, it is why I do not keep it in the public library." He said, gently stroking the old paper. I nodded and moved back as Boomer fluttered back onto my head, staring at the picture.

"Alright, so what does it say? I can make out parts of it, but that never was my best subject in school. Something about the stars and life and death?" I asked. Lord Shabboneau nodded as he scanned the paper.

"Well, I'm well-versed in Ancient Kalos. I will read it to you, though parts of it are faded." He said, squinting at it.

"That's okay, just do what you can." Celeste asked, leaning over to look at the picture.

"_Life and death, in constant struggle with each other, there were none who were unaffected by their quarrel. A man who could not die, a Lucario who was alive only when near the source. They plead to the stars for an end to the chaos. At the heart-answered-New life was granted, Lucario changed with the rest. -power, they forced nature to calm. Balance was restored, the world found peace, and so did they. Never forget-_" He said, rolling the scroll up.

"What answered? Where did it come from?" Celeste asked, frowning at the scroll. Lord Shabboneau sighed and shook his head sadly.

"I have no clue. As I said, this is our only copy, and it is quite faded. I've never been able to track down any of the others. What I can gather is that Mega Evolution came about as an answer to the ancient battles of Xerneas and Yveltal. Anything else, I don't know. I'm sorry, but this is all I can give you" He said, looking disappointed that he couldn't tell us more.

"It's alright, sir. It's more than we had. Thank you for your time." I said, standing up and holding my hand out to him. Lord Shabboneau smiled at me, taking my hand and shaking it firmly.

"I should thank you, you returned my family's most treasured heirloom. I do wish I could do more for you, if you ever need anything, please let me know." He said, nodding at us respectfully.

"We will, thanks again!" Celeste said, grabbing my hand and pulling me to the staircase. We made our way downstairs, silently greeting Vonn as he polished the case that now held the Poke Flute. He smiled warmly at us, but did not deviate from his task, and we continued to make our way outside.

"So, you up for another night in the hotel since you committed us to going back to Parfume Palace?" I asked cheekily. Celeste grinned as she opened her mouth to say something, only to be interrupted when we heard someone clear their throat in front of us.

"That...won't be necessary." Said a familiar voice. We snapped our attention to the street, marveling at the large, Ponyta-drawn carriage that waited. Standing in front of the opened door to the carriage, Count Parfum's guard glared at us.

"Now what is this about?" I asked, crossing my arms. The guard grimaced, stiffly stepping aside.

"My master requires your audience. He wants to properly thank you for your actions today, and decided that you deserved to be treated like royalty for one night. Hop in, the sooner I get you there the sooner I get you peasants out of my hair." He said with a snort. While I stood there and pondered the offer, Celeste immediately ran forward, practically flying into the carriage.

"Come on Aldith! We're gonna sleep in a real palace!" She said, sticking her head out the window. I sighed in exasperation, walking over to the carriage and climbing inside with her. I fell forward slightly as the carriage began to move, and we watched the world pass us by at a leisurely pace.

"Aren't you some big coordinator in Sinnoh? I thought you would have been living the high life, almost like a real princess." I asked. Celeste grimaced at my question as Sasha jumped off her head, landing in the seat across from us while Boomer joined her, the two of them looking out the windows.

"Well, yes and no. I mean, I did treat myself to five star hotel suites every so often, and I ate a little bit better than that casserole you and Lavier made the other night, not that there was anything wrong with it of course." She said, smiling sheepishly when she realized she was criticizing my cooking slightly. I chuckled and gave her a playful punch on the shoulder.

"But?" I asked, urging her to continue. Celeste breathed through her nose deeply.

"But, I was never really 'famous'. You don't get that kind of notoriety until you've won the Grand Festival, which names you as one of the best coordinators in the entire world. The process to even get into the Grand Festival is grueling. You need to win three contests of different levels to qualify for the master rank, then you need to win five master rank contests to qualify for the Grand Festival, and you can only participate in the master rank seven times before you have to start over." She explained. I whistled low in response, blinking incredulously while shaking my head slowly.

"That's quite a process. I always thought it was just win five ribbons and the ribbon cup and you were done." I said, making Celeste chuckle hollowly.

"That's a common misconception, stemming from the fact that only the master rank an the Grand Festival are televised nationally. All of the lower rank contests are only locally televised, and they usually aren't taken very seriously. They'll be overshadowed by Baccer or some college sporting event. Every coordinator has a gathering of fans that increases with each win, but you only get the glory if you are good in the master ranks, and I was on my fifth attempt with two losses under my belt already." She said, leaning her head on the carriage wall.

"One more meant starting over...Celeste, I think I understand why-" I said, only for her hand to latch over my mouth.

"Don't say it, I know what you're going to say and I don't disagree, but it wasn't always like that. They weren't always so shallow. I...I did something wrong to make them that way. What did I do? When did I do it? What could I have done differently? I ask myself those questions every day I wake up, and every night before I sleep. I still don't have an answer, and I'm worried I never will." She said with a sigh. I grabbed her hand, feeling no resistance as I pulled it away and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"Celeste, I haven't known you long enough to really understand how you work. I can't say one way or another if you are a shallow, self-centered show ponyta or not, though aside from your insistence on looking good, you haven't shown me any signs of it." I said, making her snort.

"What's your point?" She asked bitterly.

"My point is, I've worked with all kinds of pokemon over the last few years, all from different walks of life. That Liepard I had when I met you? He's not the only pokemon I've ever had, but he's the only one I had that made it through Team Plasma. I raised Romeo from birth, but the rest of my pokemon were assigned to me, and when Team Plasma went down for good, so did they because they were too feral and aggressive to rehabilitate. Their fates were all sealed because of how they were raised by humans." I told her. Celeste sniffled and tilted her head at me.

"But?" She asked, imitating me. I chuckled softly at that, reaching over to pick up Boomer, hugging him.

"Not all pokemon are created equal, just as no human is. Romeo had the same exact training as the rest of my pokemon, the only difference being that he got a little affection and praise from me. There's no reason he shouldn't have been put down with the rest of them, he can be just as vicious and blood thirsty. However, nurture only goes so far. Nature carries more weight sometimes. Romeo was naturally loyal and affectionate, and like me, he uses his training only when he has to." I said, Celeste blinked at me curiously, tilting her head as though she were confused.

"But, you pretty much just said you made him that way. You praised him when he did something right and therefore he was a kind pokemon." She said. I snorted and waggled my finger in front of her.

"Now now, don't go putting words in my mouth. I may have raised Romeo to the best of my ability, but raising a pokemon to be loyal in an environment where every second of every day was life or death will get you a pokemon that is MAYBE loyal to you, and you alone. And that's the best case scenario. Unless, of course, the pokemon is just naturally kind-hearted. Maybe I nurtured his heart, but he needed to have it in the first place for me to do so. The rest of my pokemon? I didn't get to raise them, and even though I was nice to them, I knew they would turn on me in an instant if Ghetsis asked them to." I said, putting my hand on Celeste's shoulder. I squeezed it tightly and looked her in the eye.

"Aldith?" She asked, blinking at me.

"The point I am trying to make is that yes, raising a creature goes a long way to determining its personality, but in the end it is up to that creature to determine who they will be. You didn't turn your pokemon into selfish little divas, they allowed themselves to get caught up in the spotlight and let everything you accomplished go to their heads. You didn't do this to yourself, so stop torturing yourself over it." I told her. Celeste said nothing, but her eyes darkened slightly, like she was going to cry. They glazed over suddenly, and I couldn't help but wonder what she was being told right now. She came out of it fairly quickly, shaking her head like she was getting rid of a headache. She blinked softly and looked up at me, smiling before leaning into me and hugging tightly. I hugged her back, and we stayed quiet until the carriage stopped, the door being pulled open roughly and the Parfum Guard scowling at us.

"Yuck, you vile creatures better not commit any acts of _that_ nature while you are here. I don't tolerate YOUR kind here, and you are to keep that nonsense away from my master." He said. I blinked stupidly at him as Celeste pulled away, scowling at him.

"Well excuse me. Maybe if you were a little bit nicer, you could actually get a girl of your own, then you wouldn't need to be jealous of us, right baby?" Celeste asked, turning to me with a wink. I grinned at her and nodded, pulling her closer to me.

"You're absolutely right, my darling. Keep in mind though, not everyone is as lucky as we are." I said, trying very hard not to laugh.

"Aww, come here my love." She said, pulling me closer to her. When her face was inches from mine, she began to make moaning sounds, looking every bit as amused as I was as I joined in. The guard made a disgusted sound and stomped away, Celeste pulling away from me with a snicker. I shushed her as I pulled Boomer into my arms, holding onto him as I climbed out of the carriage. Celeste followed me quickly, Sasha perched on her head, and we walked briskly over to the front doors of Parfum Palace. I let Boomer go and began to cackle, with Celeste joining me as we grabbed the wall for stability.

"I love messing with people who deserve it. You were very convincing though, are you actually gay? Not that there's anything wrong with that of course." I asked, trying to catch my breath. Celeste kept chuckling as she shook her head.

"No, I'm not, but acting is a strong part of coordinating. My first contest, I went up against a woman who took me under her wing to teach me everything she knew so that I could be a better coordinator. She was a very nice person, but she was fruitier than a gift basket and made no attempts to hide her orientation. I was just channeling her for that little spectacle because that guy is an asshole. Thanks for going along with it." she said, beaming. I grinned at her and nodded as I turned to the doors, putting my hand on one and pushing it open.

And what a sight to see beyond the gilded door.

* * *

TBC

I can't remember the last time I actually updated on a sunday. Gosh it must have been...what, August last year? Yeesh. Well, here's to hoping I can return to form, eh?

So, I just realized I kept adding an E out of habit to Parfum Palace, and completely butchered the spelling of Shabboneau Castle. Thanks guide, thanks a lot for telling me it was Shabbaneau. Anyway this chapter was, interesting to say the least. Part of the reason this took so long was because I was conflicted about some of the elements I included into it. Namely the bits about orientation. I even asked a friend of mine about those parts of the chapter and between his input and using myself as an audience for whether or not something regarding orientation was offensive (fun fact: I'm bi!) I was finally satisfied enough to work past them and finish the chapter. How'd I do? XD

By the way, I got the Pokemon Amino app on my phone. I'm Catilena1890 there too, so feel free to add me and have a chat with me. :3

So, next chapter is the filleriest filler that ever filled, I think. Those who have played X and Y know exactly what's coming next. The Furfrou quest. Now, while I COULD devote an entire chapter to JUST the Furfrou quest (and make Sasha and Celeste a more hilarious pair than they already are) you don't really want that do you? It just wouldn't be fair of me to do that. I mean, you could easily skip such a chapter and have it not impact the story, but with my infrequent postings that just won't work.

Instead, I will let YOU write this next chapter. I hate to do this, because I loathe authors who have them, but I'm willing to be hypocritical.

So, do I do a training chapter in which we get the girl's movesets up to date and possibly evolve a pokemon or two, or shall I finally let you guys in on the voices in their heads?

The next three people to review get to decide! While I work on the Furfrou bit, the next three reviews should tell me which I should do in this chapter and no, you can't have both.

I hate to have a "review requirement" thing that you see in other stories, and I promise this will never happen again, but using reviews is faster than waiting on a stupid poll since it is literally the very next chapter.

Until then, see you in 24!


	25. Chapter 24: Mind Your Elders

As soon as we got inside, we were assaulted by warm colors. The shimmering, copper tiles clacked with each of our steps while golden Bisharp busts kept watch of us. We were welcomed inside by a life-sized Milotic statue that was no doubt made out of solid gold, sitting upright between two doorways that were gilded. Sasha and Boomer audibly gasped as they looked around the shiny room in wonder, though when I turned to see Celeste's reaction, she had a look on her face like she tasted something bitter.

"This has to be the gaudiest place I have ever seen. I don't think I want to see another piece of gold for the rest of my life." She muttered quietly. I chuckled, for I agreed with her, but this was probably not the right time to criticize the taste of our host. We giggled softly as the sounds of footsteps clacked on the floors in an almost musical way, Count Parfum emerging from the doorway on the left. He smiled through his stiff handlebar mustache, nodding at us politely.

"Greetings, my dears. I am truly sorry to call for you earlier than your specified date, however I am simply ever so grateful to you for saving my life today. I truly want to repay you to my fullest extent. Now, I will not have my initial gift ready for you until tomorrow night, but for the next twenty-four hours, you live in Parfum Palace and may enjoy all it has to offer." He said, his grin not fading. I nodded at him and smiled back.

"That is very kind of you, sir, but it's not-" I started, only for him to clear his throat.

"In addition, because of your wide range of pokemon and your skill in wielding them, I have determined that you enjoy battling, yes?" He asked, his eyes widening expectantly. Celeste tilted her head and blinked curiously at him.

"Yes? Do you have a garden with strong pokemon in it we can train in?" She asked. I elbowed her softly, narrowing my eyes at her in warning, but Count Parfum simply laughed, the sound warm and inviting.

"I'll do you one better. On the path of Route Six, there is a building called the Battle Chateau. It is a battling club that is only for the elite and affluent. You may only gain membership if you are rich and or famous. I have two membership passes right here, and I wish to give them to you." He said, reaching into his coat and pulling out two envelopes, holding them out to us. I tilted my head this time as I reached out to pluck them from his hand, passing one to Celeste while I opened up the other. Inside, there was a letter and a small coin. I unfolded the letter and scanned the words as Celeste read.

"_With this coin, the holder will receive a sash that marks them as a member of the exclusive Battle Chateau. As a member of this prestigious honor, the holder of this sash vows to be virtuous, charitable, and powerful for as long as they wear it. In turn they shall command respect from their peers of lesser, equal, and greater ranks._" It said. I blinked at it, folding the paper back up and putting it inside the envelope.

"Woah, does this mean what I think it means? We get to train with the upper crust of Kalos?" Celeste asked.

"Not just Kalos, my dear. The Battle Chateau has members from all over the world! Now go on, enjoy yourselves! When you return, you may ask any servant to show you to the rooms, and I shall see you girls tomorrow evening for your surprise." Count Parfum said, dipping his head before turning on his heels to walk back through the doorway. I turned to Celeste and smiled at seeing her ecstatic face.

"This could be fun! Come on, Aldith! Let's go beat up rich people!" She said, running back out the front door. I chuckled at her and followed close behind.

The walk was quiet at first, which didn't surprise me in the slightest considering we were passing through a line of trees that led to the glade where we found Mitsy. I cast a nervous glance at Celeste, worried about the impact being here had on her. To my chagrin, her face was impassive, unreadable, as if she felt nothing at all. She was bottling her emotions up again, and that was not okay. What did I have to do to convince this chick that she was hurting herself? Even the voice didn't chime in here, which meant it likely didn't know what to do either.

I was able to relax a little bit when we made it to Route 6. Celeste smiled at the sound of the rushing river. It was still too soon for the wild pokemon to return, but knowing that the Reapers were gone, it was a little exciting to think we had all of the route to ourselves. Our Noibats took advantage of the privacy to play hide and seek, diving into tall grass and the wild flowerbeds. We slowed our pace to let them play as long as possible, grateful to them for breaking the tension that held us.

Despite our slow pace, we soon came to the Battle Chateau, awed by the majesty of it's impressive bulk. The stony structure stretched from one side of the river to the other, it's white cobblestone walls shimmering off the water. Trays of flowers sat under every window, and despite how quiet the route was, despite the fact that battles should be raging within those walls, nothing but the sounds of the river filled the air.

"You know, I've seen a lot of castles in my life, probably more than most people our age. Out of all of them though, this has to be the most magnificent one I've been to." I said, placing my hands on the handles of the deep wooden doors. I hesitated for a moment, thinking we really had no business here, but I shook the thought and pushed the doors open.

As soon as we stepped inside, we heard the soothing melody of a harp playing softly. It was hard to tell the direction the music was coming from, but that didn't make it any less pleasant. I could tell Celeste was just as pleased as I was at the lack of gold no matter where we looked. The floors were a smooth, white marble that had a beautiful carpet a few steps away from the door. This same carpet completely lined the floors of the hallways on either side of us, and there were two tall doors in front of us, a large, framed board hung between them. On closer inspection, the board was a display of different accomplishments for some of the members.

"Now THIS is classy. I would not mind staying here for the night instead." Celeste said with a low whistle.

"Agreed, though it does still have an arrogant feel to it. Honestly, I think I prefer Grimsley's tower back in Unova. The fanciest room there is Vixen's bedroom, and even that is more humble than this." I said quietly, standing up.

"Oh? What's that like out there?" Celeste asked, beaming at me. I opened my mouth to respond when I heard an impatient, almost angry cough. Celeste and I turned to see a red-haired maid glaring at me.

"Hi there, who do we speak to about redeeming our membership coins?" I asked, grabbing my envelope and holding it up. The maid said nothing as she glared at Celeste, who held hers out as well, turning on her heels and walking away briskly. I blinked stupidly after her as she disappeared behind a door in one of the halls.

"Well isn't she just a bundle of sunshine." Celeste said dryly, folding her arms and leaning against the wall.

"What's her problem?" I said in annoyance. The maid walked out of the door, followed by a thin, well-dressed old lady.

"Probably not fancy enough. I've been to country clubs where the staff snubs you if you don't look like royalty. Watch, they're gonna come over here and tell us we stole these memberships and then try to throw us out after boosting their egos by pointing out how much nicer they look than us." She said quietly as the women approached us. The older woman looked us over, a disgusted frown appearing on her face.

"So, I-" I started when she raised her hand up quickly, pinching her fingers together and snapping her arm to the side.

"Silence, you will not speak unless spoken to and directed to. Am I clear, commoner?" She said. I glared and started to come out with a witty retort, but Celeste beat me to it.

"Here we go. Another cranky old bitty who couldn't afford manners with all the money she never worked a day in her life for. Now she's past her prime and realized she's wasted her life on her over-inflated ego and is taking it out on younger girls to make herself feel important again. Am I close, your majesty?" Celeste asked, her hand moving up to hold Sasha to her head. The woman's face visibly reddened, and she raised an arm up and stomped over to us like she was going to smack Celeste for her outburst. I stepped between them, and the old woman looked almost surprised that I stood up to her. It seemed like the tension couldn't get any higher, but as fast as it had come, that's how quickly it left with the arrival of our newest companion.

"Ahaha just as fiery as ever, aren't ya girls? I thought you were gonna let me know you were coming before you went to the Chateau!" Said a gruff, warm voice. We all stopped and turned to look in the hallway behind me and Celeste, and we saw a very large, white-haired man smiling at us. His incredible white beard formed two tails that hung from the sides of his face, framing a smile that promised warmth and safety. A bright blue jacket hung from his shoulders, and a thick sash stretched out over his huge belly, barely contained by the white wife-beater. He lumbered over to us, his black snow pants scraping against itself.

"What is the meaning of this, Wulfric?" The woman spat. The man, Wulfric, didn't appear to be bothered by her anger as he held his huge, meaty arms out to me and Celeste.

"Come on girls, give your grandpa a hug! It's been ages since I saw you two!" He said with a wink. The wink was so subtle that I almost missed it, but it was enough to let me know that he was sound of mind and that he wanted to help us. I grinned at him and grabbed Celeste, pulling us into his grip as he engulfed us in a big, Beartic hug. Sasha and Boomer squeaked as they flew off our heads, flying up to the ceiling and perching on a chandelier.

"We missed ya, Grandpa! We finally became trainers now!" I said, trying to sound like I was really excited to see him.

"Ha! Good for you! You'll have to show me your pokemon later, but right now, let's work on getting you your sashes. Hey, Lady Liress, mind giving my granddaughters here a sash? I'll gladly pay for the coins." He said, holding onto us. The old woman sputtered while her maid looked on with a horrified expression.

"Actually, we already have our coins. Count Parfum bought them for us as thanks for-" Celeste said when she was suddenly interrupted by Liress.

"Preposterous! Count Parfum would never give charity! How dare you desecrate the sanctity of this establishment you little-" She screeched, stopping abruptly and looking at us with wide eyes, trembling in place. I blinked at her and looked up to see Wulfric staring at the woman, his smile losing all traces of the warmth they held previously. His grey eyes were dark, his lips taut in his cold smile, and his hands visibly strained on us, giving the appearance of tightening their grip without actually doing it.

"I'm sorry, madam. These ears just aren't what they used to be. What was it you were going to call my granddaughter? It certainly didn't sound like you planned to give them their sashes." He said, his voice having a hint of a threat. Liress and her maid took a step back, the older woman composing herself and turning around with a haughty snort.

"Fine. Fetch two sashes for Wulfric's granddaughters. I have work to do." She said, stomping away. The maid muttered her compliance, hurrying past her mistress, as they both disappeared into the hall. Wulfric let us go then, and we stumbled forward a bit, not realizing until now that he had actually been holding us up.

"Think they're gone now. You two alright? I'm real sorry about pulling you two so close, but I had to sell it, ya know?" He said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. I chuckled at him and shook my head.

"Don't worry about it, we appreciate the help. Why did you help us though?" I asked, tilting my head. Wulfric chuckled at me as he reached up to stroke his beard thoughtfully.

"Well, you looked pretty naive and innocent. You came here expecting some high-level training to help ya in the gyms, am I right?" He asked.

"Yeah! Count Parfum told us that this would be a great place to train! He gave us these invites to thank us for getting a Snorlax off of him and stopping the Reapers from killing him." Celeste said, speaking almost too fast for me to understand. Wulfric stiffened suddenly, his eyes narrowed at us sternly as though he actually was our grandfather.

"What do you know about the Reapers? You better come with me when Charlotte comes back with your sashes, missy." He said, his voice full of concern and alarm. Celeste froze and hid behind me with a squeak, peeking over my shoulder to stare at him. I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes at Wulfric, challenging the huge man.

"And if we don't want to?" I asked, raising a brow.

"I said her, little lady. Unless you know something as well, and you aren't leaving the Chateau until you've told me everything. I am allowed to detain you for as long as I need. It is my right as a Gym Leader under Queen Diantha's rule." He said, crossing his arms as well.

"Noi!" Sasha screeched, diving down. She tackled Wulfric as hard she she could, but to my amazement the man didn't even flinch as she recoiled back, landing on the ground with a thump and rolling into the wall.

"Sasha!" Celeste cried, moving to get her pokemon. To my surprise, Wulfric was there first, gently picking up the Noibat and cradling her in his huge hands.

"Oh darlin, are you alright? That didn't hurt, did it?" He asked. Sasha groaned and blinked several times, still stunned by the impact. She shook her head roughly and looked around, glaring at Wulfric and hissing. Wulfric chortled as he tossed her into the air, and Sasha immediately flew to Celeste, who hugged her tightly.

"Sasha I'm so glad you're okay! Thanks for trying." Celeste cooed at the Noibat. Sasha growled, but made no attempts to get out of Celeste's hysterical grip, and Wulfric and I watched the two in thoughtful silence.

"Sorry I came off so aggressive. I'm the toughest and most powerful of the Kalos Gym Leaders, so Diantha tasked me with stopping the Reapers." He said quietly as the maid walked briskly toward us, unaware of the altercation.

"Give me your coins and take these sashes. You start off as Baronesses. Defeat ten other Barons or Baronesses to get the next level of sash, and so on and so forth. I warn you though, your kind won't last long in a place like this." She said, her gaze icy. I rolled my eyes as I grabbed my envelope, pulling out the coin and holding it out to her while Celeste did the same, allowing Sasha to hover next to her. The maid made an ugly face at our hands as she reached into her pocket, pulling out a handkerchief.

"Oh for cryin' out loud, Charlotte! These are the granddaughters of Kalos's top gym leader! What more do you want?" Wulfric said, faceplaming and shaking his head. The maid, Charlotte, snorted as she grabbed the coins out of our hands roughly, throwing the sashes at our feet and stomping away with a huff.

"I hope she keeps her job, she'd never make it in the real world." Celeste said loudly as she bent down to pick up our sashes, holding one out to me. Charlotte stumbled, but made no other reactions and kept walking away briskly. I shook my head and put my sash on, fingering the soft fabric.

"So we have them. You're just going to ask us about our encounters with the Reapers? I don't know how that will help, I only ever saw one band of them and Count Parfum blasted them away with a bunch of Gyarados' Hyper Beams." I said. Wulfric snorted in amusement as he turned around, beckoning us to follow.

"Any little bit helps, girls. And there's no guarantee that that was the only group out here." He said. I looked at Celeste and nodded, following Wulfric through the hall. A soft pressure on my head told me that Boomer had returned to perch on me. We heard soft voices in the rooms, and soft tapping sounds like clapping. We stopped at one of the doors, and Wulfric bent down to fiddle with the lock, opening the door and stepping aside to let us in.

The room was more humble than the rest of the castle. The floor was covered in a carpet that had homey, rustic colors, topped by a rug that had multiple shades of greens bubbling on it. There were green and orange chairs lining the walls, and in the back of the room there was a small coffee table under a large portrait of some red-haired woman sitting by a window. Her icy blue eyes held a lot of warmth in them as she stared into the room, her dainty hands folded on her lap while her cream-colored dress billowed around her.

"What a pretty woman, I wonder who she is." Celeste said quietly, transfixed by the portrait.

"That, would be my wife, Neige. This portrait was a gift at our wedding fifty years ago." He said, looking sadly at the portrait. I tilted my head at him, but he seemed to be lost in thought. Not communicating with anyone or anything, but reliving memories. I wanted to ask him what was wrong, but I had a feeling I knew given the timeline he'd laid out for me. I wasn't going to kick a man while he was down, especially not one who just wanted to help.

"We first encountered them yesterday, trying to slay a pair of Dodrio and their child. We only made it out because they came back for us and got us away as thanks for making sure their child survived." I said, going right into our story about the Reapers. I knew Celeste wouldn't like talking about it, but this was a Gym Leader. This was someone who had the inherent belief that he was above the law, and would not let it stand in his way when he's protecting his home. This was someone who wasn't going to just investigate the murderers, he was going to stop them.

"And today, they wiped out countless pokemon in a glade by Parfum Palace and attacked us and Count Parfum. I...I have the sole survivor of the initial attack, an Espurr who watched her mother and father die with their egg. That glade...needs some major TLC, it's pretty clear what happened in there." Celeste chimed in, surprising me and pulling Wulfric's attention away from the portrait. He looked at Celeste with soft, sympathetic eyes.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that. It must have been real frightening. I'm glad you were there though, because I'm sure that Espurr is too." He said gently, and in that moment, Wulfric WAS a grandfather, comforting his grandchild who was clearly distressed.

"Me too but...I just don't understand how anyone could do such a thing. It...it was like they enjoyed it. What kind of person could do this?" Celeste said, her eyes tearing up. Wulfric reached out and laid his hand on Celeste's head, rubbing her hair softly.

"Now now, don't you fret. These aren't people, child. People do bad things because they don't know better. These are monsters, monsters who know nothing but hatred and anger and lash out at the world around them because they don't want to do anything else. Put it out of your mind, darlin, cuz old Wulfric is gonna put a stop to this." He said with a soft smile. Celeste sniffled and smiled back at him with a nod.

"I believe you. They need to be stopped, and I can see you will do anything to stop them. I wanna help, do what I can to make sure that no one else has to go through what Mitsy endured. And I want to get stronger so that I can protect others from them." Celeste said, squirming in her chair in her eagerness to train. Wulfric smirked at her and kept his hand firmly on her head, keeping her in her seat.

"Now you hold on there, sweetheart. I can appreciate your enthusiasm, but you don't have what it takes to take on a group like this." He said sternly. I raised a brow at Wulfric, clearing my throat loudly.

"Oh really? What do you have that we don't that makes you more qualified? And don't say a gym, because Celeste and I might end up as Gym Leaders, or even Champion, by the end of our journey with the proper training." I said indignantly. Wulfric snorted and leaned back with a chuckle.

"A foot in the grave. I don't look it, but I'm seventy years old. I've had a good, fulfilling, long life. I got to go on a journey, met a bunch of pokemon and raised some to be very powerful. I met the only woman I ever loved, and had a family. I told Liress you were my granddaughters because you are old enough to be, which means you are in the prime of your lives, and will be for a long time. I'm going after the Reapers not just because Diantha asked me to, but because I want to make sure young people like you can go on to have the kind of life I had. You say you could be a Gym Leader? Or Champion? That's what I'm fighting for, so that you can do all that and more." He said, looking at us sternly. I looked into his eyes and saw the man he was describing. An old man who felt like he had nothing left to live for except ensuring the safety of the next generation. He wasn't suicidal, but he was ready to give his life to protect the lives who hadn't had a chance to really taste it the way he had. I felt something stir in my mind, and leaned back to close my eyes.

'_The mere thought of a life having nothing to live for is preposterous. All life has something to live for, else it would cease. Those who say their purpose in life is to give it for another do not understand the value of it. Sacrifice means that you would do anything to protect your life, and you use that drive to protect another with the unintended side-effect of losing your own life._' The voice explained. I thought carefully over its words, never really thinking about it that way

"You know, we're always taught that sacrifice means valuing someone else's life more than your own, but when you think about it, how much value is that, really? If you are willing to throw your own life away, how can you say you value the life you are throwing yours away for?" I asked, looking at Wulfric. His lips twitched, and he looked at the portrait of his wife.

"Who said I was willing to throw my life away? I kinda need it to fight these things." He said, watching me carefully.

"You did, with your eyes. I know I don't seem like the type, but in the last three years, I was a part of a brutal, internal war. I watched people and pokemon with the same mindset you have do their best to protect each other, some at the cost of their lives. My best friend watched her mother die in front of her eyes to protect her, and I think she had every intention of getting back to her daughter until the very end." I told him. His eyes widened at me briefly before narrowing at me.

"You know, I don't think it's any of my business to hear something so personal about someone whose name I don't even know. I also don't think it's your right to go around telling people about it, I doubt your friend would appreciate it very much." He said firmly. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and instead crossed my arms.

"I don't give details, but Vixen doesn't want people to go through that again. Everyone has something to live for, so if you are going to get into a situation that could threaten your life, you need to go in with every intention of coming back out, not accepting that you might die. Otherwise, you might not fight as hard as you instinctively would, and where will that leave the people who care about you?" I told him. Wulfric and I stared each other down, wanting the other to understand our position. Celeste whimpered quietly beside us, and Wulfric flicked his eyes at her and deflated in his chair with a sigh.

"I hear what you're saying, I really do, but there's something you need to understand little lady. You need to understand that when you are my age, there's not much left to see, and all you can do is look back." He said, looking around like he was looking for a distraction.

"But, there's always something to look forward to." Celeste said quietly, stroking Boomers ears while Sasha watched us carefully from a chair beside her trainer. Wulfric sighed again and looked at the portrait of his wife. I could hear just how tired and worn down he was in the next three words he spoke.

"Not for me."

* * *

TBC

I...I regret nothing. I LOVED Wulfric in X and Y, when I first met him, he came across to me like a man who was not going to let something like age slow him down and like he would be a family man. Honestly, I think he was probably my favorite character in X and Y, which is a new thing to me because up until now, I never really had a favorite human character before. Its always been about the pokemon for me, even though some of the human trainers were interesting, pokemon were always in the spotlight for me. Then X and Y comes out with this gym leader who has just enough story to be interesting, but there are a lot of gaps that need filling. Kind of like Grimsley but with a little bit more to him. It helps that unlike Grimsley, Wulfric is actually outside of the location you battle him and his dialogue makes him feel more real.

I do, however, apologize for the lack of the Furfrou quest *I say like you actually cared about that part XD* and the lack of training, and the downer cliff hanger *it IS a cliff hanger I promise it'll be resolved fast!*. This chapter was supposed to go from the palace to the chateau and back to the palace but then I brought in Wulfric and I started writing a history lesson and giving him a backstory, and I realized this was going to be hideously long and boring.

On the plus side, writing all that out means I have half of the next chapter done!

See you in 25 in just a bit!


	26. Chapter 25: Shattered Glass

I was confused by his statement. Wulfric didn't look like the type of man to give up, but as he scooted his chair back and stared at the portrait of his wife, I could see his pain. As far as he was concerned, it was just him and his wife in the room right now. I could see the faintest hint of tears in the corners of his eyes, but a man like him was too proud to let them fall. Yet, I could tell he was tired of that pride. Tired of missing his wife. Tired of life in general.

'_True death is being forgotten after passing. False life is allowing the past to swallow you. The line between the two is blurred and it is difficult to walk between the them. With help from others, it is easier to see. With help from family, it is impossible not to._' Said the voice. I squeezed my eyes as I focused on it, but again, my attempt to figure out the voice was fruitless. At this point I knew it would be, but trying to unravel the mystery was fun.

Of course, I couldn't just ignore the wisdom it offered me when it did speak. The request was clear as I opened my eyes to look at Wulfric. He was a strong person, but he was wounded. It's not a situation I was unfamiliar with, since Vixen had told me about some of the struggles her adoptive father has had with his family. I looked around the room and sat down in one of the nearest chairs, giving Celeste a look to join me.

"What did it say?" She whispered as quietly as she could. Wulfric still hadn't moved, and I frowned at him.

"He's in pain, the kind of pain that can only be healed by family. I think we need to add finding what's left of his family to our to-do list." I whispered back, though the words sounded outrageous to me. I barely knew the man aside from him being a gym leader, and here I was, suggesting we get involved in his personal life. When Celeste didn't say anything, I looked at her to see if she might be getting spoken to as well. To my surprise though, I saw something else. I saw focus, sympathy, and a clever streak in her eyes. She looked at me suddenly and grinned. I knew that grin, that was the "I've got something crazy planned and you're going to go along with it" grin. Though I didn't have the slightest idea of what she was about to pull when she leaned forward.

"Will you tell us about her, Grandpa?" Celeste said. Wulfric's eyes snapped to her, and I looked at her incredulously. She wasn't making fun of him, I could see that she was genuinely interested in Wulfric's past. He could see that too, and his eyes softened, another smile making its way onto his face. He brought his hand to his face, shaking his head in disbelief, before pulling his chair to us.

"Well, where do I start? It was a better time, girls. A time when only the best would leave their towns to take on the league, and boy, Neige certainly was. She came from a small village not too far away from Snowbelle City, and she looked so delicate, I took it upon myself to be her protector. She didn't need it, and I know now that she always knew that, but she enjoyed my company. I watched her win each of her badges, and I could hardly keep up with her." He said with a chuckle, looking at the portrait.

"How far did she go?" Celeste asked. Boomer looked up and flew off of my head, and the three of us looked up to watch him play with his sister as they flew around the ceiling.

"By the time I got my fifth badge, Neige had become Queen." Wulfric said fondly.

"Queen? You mean Champion?" Celeste asked.

"Up until about thirty years ago, Kalosians still called the Champion the King or Queen of Kalos. One of our Champions, Doux, put a stop to that because he wanted to modernize Kalos. He kept the region a competition-based Monarchy, but he made a few changes to make being Champion a little bit easier, starting with abolishing the "King or Queen" titles to make it easier to interact with the other regions. We have a reputation for being arrogant and thinking we're above everyone else. Doux's work helped make us more approachable." I explained, reciting a lecture from one of my history teachers when I was in school. Wulfric snorted, and we looked up at him as he grinned, snickering to himself. He lost all control as his snickering turned into full-blown laughter, and he slapped his knee as he rocked back and forth on his chair, nearly falling out.

"Where'd ya hear that? A Doux fangirl?" He asked, roaring in laughter again. I smirked at his reaction and leaned back.

"Something like that. When I was eight, I had a history teacher who was practically in love with the guy. We had an entire unit about Doux's reign that took up a semester." I said, making Wulfric snort.

"Mind tellin me who that was and where? I'll need to have a word with your town's gym leader to get the teachers under control. It just ain't right to waste a kid's capacity by blowing everything out of proportion about a glorified Floette." He said, crossing his arms. I tilted my head in curiosity at him, ignoring the confused look Celeste had.

"Well, I'm from Aquacorde Town, but yelling at Rook isn't going to do you any good. That teacher retired after I graduated from school. Rumors in the class say it was forced." I said. Wulfric composed himself and nodded in a matter-of-fact way.

"Well, that's good to hear. Now, I'm not saying Doux was a bad champion, but his accomplishments are grossly exaggerated. All he did was get rid of the traditional title and give Gym Leaders the authority to run their own towns and determine their own specialties. I'm glad for the changes, but it wasn't anything spectacular, and it didn't save Kalos from economic crises. It certainly is easier to be Champion in Kalos, but not to the degree that people say. Now Sagesse, that man was no mere champion, he was King, and will always be King Sagesse. How about I give you a real history lesson, girls?" Wufric said, his eyes lighting up when he brought up Sagesse.

"I would love to, we didn't talk too much about him. All I learned was that he was King before Doux beat him." I said, tilting my head. Wulfric snorted indignantly.

"Doux didn't beat King Sagesse. You don't beat King Sagesse. The man was ninety years old, his Salamence was on his last legs, he couldn't even Mega Evolve anymore. Sagesse knew he and Louis were nearing the end, and he decided that being the ruler of the region was too much for them at that point. He took a good look at his Elite Four, and decided that the only one who would be worthy of succeeding him was Doux, because Doux was the only one who was not power hungry. The others were gonna put Kalos back a few thousand years, but Doux and his Mega-Evolving Altaria wanted to continue the peace that Sagesse upheld. They had their battle, but Sagesse threw the fight so that Louis wouldn't be stressed out and Altaria could be ready to battle." He said, which completely contradicted what I had learned about the battle. It made me a little mad to hear this. Maybe Wulfric was just an old man who thought back on his past with a filter that made things better than they might have been, but I could tell there was a little truth to his words.

"So, I was lied to. How long was Doux K-Champion?" I asked, correcting myself. Wulfric chuckled and nodded approvingly at me.

"You're right, darlin. Doux might have been Champion, but he was never our King. I approve of the title change simply because it makes it easier for me to label our rulers. Anyway, Doux's reign lasted only a year when Neige challenged him. Maybe he had that fancy Mega Evolution that made King Sagesse a mighty force, but he didn't have the heart to use it to its fullest. Neige was actually insulted when she won, because she defeated all six of his pokemon using only her Froslass. She complained to me later that Doux's Elite Four required more strategy and pokemon than he did." He said with a wry smile. He looked at the portrait fondly, and Celeste quickly jumped up.

"So how long was the Queen's reign?" Celeste asked. Wulfric's smile became sad, his eyes glistening a little bit.

"Neige...ruled until her death. She died giving birth to our son, Dante. Our champion after that was Richard, who reigned until Diantha took over a few years ago." He said quietly. He sighed and glanced at the portrait again.

"What happened to Dante? He...he made it through his birth, right?" Celeste asked, tilting her head. Wulfric looked at her sadly, his eyes puffing up slightly.

"Yes. He was healthy as could be, and had his mother's iron-clad spirit. He also had my stubborn streak, and it was a challenge to raise him. The only way I could really keep him under control was by promising that when he was old enough to begin a journey, he could take my Amaura with him as his starter. He loved that pokemon, it was his favorite out of all the pokemon I had." He said, hanging his head.

"So, he's, still on his journey?" I asked, regretting it immediately as Wulfric sniffled.

"In those days, y-you don't start your journey until you were strong enough. When Dante turned ten, he begged me repeatedly to go on his journey. He was impulsive and rash, but he was so determined. He had the defiant spirit of his mother, and I thought that meant he was ready. I gave him Amaura's pokeball and a sack that had some food and warm clothes in it and sent him on his way. I didn't hear from him again for a few weeks, and I was okay because that meant he was enjoying his journey, walking the same steps that his mother and I took before him." He said, sniffling again.

"You, raised him and sent him off in Snowbelle, didn't you?" I asked, hoping to the powers that be that he'd say no. Wulfric coughed, a fake sound to cover a sob, and kept his head down, though the growing moisture on the carpet told me everything.

"Three weeks after I sent him out, the Snowbelle Gym Leader knocked on my door, and told me to come with him to his gym. I followed him, and ironically, in those days, Snowbelle had a fire type gym by the order of King Sagesse." He said, lifting a hand up to grip at a locket that hung from his neck.

"Wulfric...no." Celeste said, her own eyes tearing up. He nodded, but didn't raise his head.

"He took me to the back room, and he had me look at two bodies his Pyroars had retrieved. When I sent Dante off, I knew there was going to be a huge blizzard, but I figured that with his rebellious spirit and a strong, sturdy pokemon that could withstand the cold like an Amaura, he would be far enough away before it would hit. I...I didn't think it was possible for an Ice typed pokemon to freeze. But seeing Dante, my little boy, so pale, so frail...I wasn't even allowed to touch him because there was a risk that I'd peel his skin off." He said with another cough-covered sob. Celeste and I frowned at each other, wanting to help him, but we both knew the only way we could was by staying quiet and listening. Sasha and Boomer, on the other hand, had other ideas.

"Noi!" Sasha chirped, flying over and hovering in front of Wulfric. He looked up at her, his eyes very red now, while she glared at him. She suddenly flew away and Boomer flew forward, landing on Wulfric and clinging to his belly. Wulfric chuckled and leaned back in his chair, holding Boomer closely.

"We, had this tradition in the snowy parts of Kalos. A lot of people think it's morbid but, well, we grew up in some of the harshest parts of the region. Before all this modern technology and all the breakthroughs in transportation, food wasn't easy to come by. Humans turned to pokemon for aid and food and well, we felt we owed it to them to give our flesh in return. It was always up to the patriarch of the family in Snowbelle to turn the family's passed to the wilderness, so that the cycle of life can continue." He said, suppressing a snicker when Celeste and I gagged.

"Yeah I know, but you can't exactly dig a grave in frozen ground, and the only way to keep your primary food source in one place is to make sure they can eat. So, with a heavy heart, I took my son far from Snowbelle, to give him back to the world he had not had a chance to explore. I found a nice, quiet forest and placed him at the base of a great tree, its roots making a sort of cradle for him while my Avalugg dropped his Amaura beside him. They, looked so peaceful. I could see past their rotten appearances so that all I saw was a boy and his pokemon, sleeping side by side." He said, looking up at the ceiling while he petted Boomer.

"At that point, a Noctowl appeared, and I, I wasn't ready to accept it yet. I wasn't ready to let my little boy go, and I certainly wasn't going to watch this pokemon eat my son. Avalugg and I attacked the bird, and I was in such a blind fury, determined to protect my son. We were stopped by another pokemon who came to Noctowl's aid. It wasn't aggressive but it held me and Avalugg in place, and while we tried to fight against it, the pokemon's powers were too strong. I gave in then, and that was the first time I had really cried. I, I believed that Neige was alive in our son, and now that he was gone, I had truly lost them both." He said, shaking his head.

"Noibat?" Boomer asked, looking up at him sweetly. Wulfric smiled and continued to pet Boomer.

"The pokemon took pity on me, and when it felt Avalugg and I were no longer a threat, it let us go. It approached me, and I pretty much spilled out this whole story to it, telling it about how I lost my wife and now my son. I didn't think too much about it, I just, I wanted to tell someone, anyone, who would listen and not judge me for it. Imagine how surprised I was when the pokemon talked back to me!" He said suddenly, making my eyes widen.

"Wait, was it a legendary pokemon? How incredible! What happened next?" I asked, now fascinated by this tale that had made me sad. Wulfric chuckled and shook his head.

"Now now, I may be a blubbering fool right now, but I'm still here. I promised I would never tell anyone who this pokemon was and where it lived. You see, the pokemon took pity on me, and it led me to a place just outside of the forest that was unlike anything I had ever seen. I saw small structures made out of wood and trash, and saw little eyes peer out from them. The pokemon told me that this was a place where pokemon abandoned by humans gathered and lived, having nowhere else to go. It said that more pokemon were coming each day, and it was hard for it to find a way to help them all. It did its best to protect them, but it had no way of really taking care of them. It was sorry for my loss, and all I had gone through, but I had to let go, because life continued on. It showed me this place to remind me of that, and hoped that I would help it." He said, pulling Boomer closer.

"Did, you take Dante and Amaura to this secret place for the pokemon?" Celeste asked, Wulfric shaking his head.

"No, I had resolved to, but the pokemon told me that it was not necessary. These pokemon loved their humans, and the thought of eating one was revolting to them. So, instead, I decided that these pokemon needed my help, they needed a human to care for them. Every day after that, I made secret trips to this place that I had dubbed Pokemon Village, and I brought them food and labor to give them more stable and comfortable homes. Pokemon saved me the day I took my son to the woods, and the leader of Pokemon Village gave me a way to forget my grief. I never forgot the kindness that pokemon gave to me that day." He said, letting my Noibat go.

"Well there you go, you have Pokemon Village. Isn't that worth living for?" Celeste asked, tilting her head. Wulfric sighed and looked at the portrait again.

"They don't need me anymore. It's not as harsh in that area as it used to be. The weather has let up enough for us to pave roads, and for plants to grow food. In fact, I've noticed families are now doing actual funerals and burials since the wild pokemon have their own source of food now and it is easier to get to places where you can dig a grave. I do still check on Pokemon Village from time to time, but it's more for a quick visit to make sure everyone is okay. These are pokemon who were abandoned, abused by humans, they wouldn't miss me. I'm still determined to help them though, and these Reapers, they're a real threat to Pokemon Village and to the rest of the region. This old man has one good fight in him, and I'm going to make sure that when I leave this world, it'll be better than when I came into it." He said, sniffing and wiping his eyes. Celeste shuffled in her seat, grabbing her pokeballs off her belt, and gave me a pointed look. I smiled at her and grabbed my own pokeballs, minus Genny's, and we threw them past Wulfric. The gym leader raised a curious brow at us as e turned around, each of our pokemon taking shape in front of him.

"You're not alone, Grandpa. Not anymore. We have just as much reason to fight the Reapers as you do. We defied them, and now they're after us." Celeste said, standing up to stand by her pokemon.

"And you know what? Even if they weren't, I'd still want to do something about it. I grew up here, Kalos is my home. These punks think they can just waltz in here and act like they own the place. These are the pokemon who are going to help us teach them a lesson. We're with you, whether you like it or not, gramps" I said, grinning at him and crossing my arms. Wulfric looked at us sternly, turning to each of our pokemon one by one, and sighed in defeat.

"Yesterday, I was just supposed to write some papers to send to Diantha. Today I'm a granddad to two wild girls. Hm, you remind me of Neige, I just couldn't say no to her either. Alright, but you won't be getting anywhere here with those pokemon." He said. Sabrina and Lavier snorted indignantly while Nylass made a curious mewl, similar sounds of confusion coming from Celeste's pokemon.

"Excuse me? Our pokemon aren't good enough for these overgroomed Furfrou's?" I asked in irritation. Wulfric laughed loudly, slapping his knee.

"Not what I meant gals, I mean your pokemon are too good, and at the same time, not strong enough. See, this establishment has two tiers to it. There's the froufrou Furfrou's who think that they're strong just because they have the money to get in here. And then, you have the people who really deserve to be here. Gym leaders and elite four members and really, really strong trainers who made a name for themselves." He explained. Celeste tilted her head as Fay flew up to fix her hair, making her straighten it out again.

"So, we're in between and we'll get slaughtered by the higher ranks? But, we want a challenge, it's why we came in the first place." She said. Wulfric snorted and glanced at the door.

"Yeah but that's not the problem. You heard it when we came in here, didn't you? The soft clapping and the talking? You heard pokemon battling." He said, wincing as though saying it physically hurt him. I stared incredulously at him, slowly turning my head to look at the door.

"What? But, that didn't sound like battling. Battling is so intense, and full of emotion! And and-" I sputtered. Wulfric snorted and crossed his arms again.

"Yeah well these folks don't understand that. These are the kinds of people who never actually went out on journeys, they took over their family's companies and bought pokemon that looked nice. Their idea of battling is quite vile I just, you should see it for yourself, but trust me, you will not get anywhere battling your ranks. All you will get is loads of complaining and people threatening to sue you for marring their pokemon's good looks." He said bitterly. I looked at him in disbelief, shifting my gaze to Celeste who didn't seem as surprised as I did.

"Believe it or not, there are people like that Aldith. That pretty much defines Master Rank contest battles. They really do call me the most annoying coordinator in Sinnoh, both because I used tactics that would irritate any trainer, and because I wasn't afraid to actually attack my opponents. I think we might as well go back to Parfum Palace and just practice against each other." She said as Fay left her head. I frowned as I thought it over, a shuffling sound bringing me out of my thoughts. Sabrina had sat down and crossed her legs and began staring into the flame on her wand. I cracked a small smile at seeing her practice her psychic powers, and decided that I should investigate these claims to give her a little bit of time to meditate.

'"Come on, Lavier, let's go see if what Celeste and Wulfric are saying is true. We'll be right back, I can just knock on any door and challenge people right?" I asked. Wulfric chuckled and nodded, leaning back in his chair.

"Yeah, but I am tellin you the truth. You're gonna get chased all over the castle until someone of my rank or higher can get them off you." He said. I rolled my eyes at him and stepped out the door, my Charmeleon following me closely as Celeste took one last crack at me.

"They're gonna eat her alive."

* * *

TBC

Told ya it wouldn't be long before I resolved that! I couldn't help but cry when I was coming up with this backstory for Wulfric, what is it with me and tearing families apart? At least Celeste is willing to force herself and Aldith into his life.

And speaking of Celeste, I have a treat for you guys! Next chapter is going to be told in Celeste's point of view! I could go on with all the reasons why I'm doing this *describing a painfully pathetic battle totally isn't one of them* but I'll go with how exciting it is to explore someone like Celeste. The reason I did Lola and now LDR in first person is because I have a fascination with psychology, and like learning about what makes the mind tick. Writing about inherently clever but still innocent people like Vixen and Aldith has been a lot of fun, but if Celeste is going to match the dynamic, I need to take a look into her mind and figure out how and why she's interpreting situations the way she is, and see how perceptive she is.

Long story short, I need to get to know Celeste again, you guys should get to know Celeste, so we're gonna get to know Celeste.

In chapter 26

POST EDIT: I see you Skyfire, I hope you enjoyed this sweety. ^^


	27. Chapter 26: Looking Crazy

It was kinda funny. She was walking right into a pool of Carvanha, and was too stubborn to believe that people are that stuffy. I couldn't be too hard on her, she has only ever known harsh, grueling battles. She's told me more than once that while in Team Plasma, her life was on the line every single day. It wasn't too hard to understand that there are people who care about their appearance more than I ever did.

"So you're familiar with how things work here, but she isn't. How is that? You guys aren't sisters?" Wulfric asked. I looked at him and shook my head.

"No, we just met about a week ago and decided to travel together, and we've got the most opposite backstories two people could have." I said, reaching into my purse to grab a mirror so I could admire Fay's handiwork.

"Oh? Mind telling me a bit about it? But not too much about hers, she can tell me when she's good and ready." He asked. I smiled at him, somewhat conflicted about what to say. I had grown used to Aldith being the tactful one, the one who knew just what to say and how much and when to get out.

'_Is that any way to live? That is not the person Aldith chose to befriend, you are your own person, you need to make your own choices._' The voice said, scolding me. I winced a little bit at being told I was relying too much on Aldith, but it was just so much easier to.

'_I've made so many mistakes though, and really screwed up my life. Aldith knows what she's doing better than I do._' I replied, hoping the voice would understand. Instead, I was filled with a light, disappointment.

'_And she hasn't? After everything you have discussed, do you really think she is perfect? That she's always made the right decisions? That she could somehow reverse time to make your past not happen?_' It said firmly. I sighed and went to sit in a chair, staring at the floor while Wulfric patted my back softly.

"Are you okay darlin? Do I need to get a doctor?" He asked in concern. I looked at him and smiled, trying to reassure him.

"I'm fine Grandpa, I just have these dizzy spells every so often." I said. I didn't want to tell him about the voice, this was something no one but Aldith could understand.

It did have a point though. I was asking so much from Aldith, more than she could give me. I felt bad when I realized that, because I knew she would try to give it to me anyway. I don't really understand why, but Aldith doesn't like it when I looked sad. I try to be happy for her but sometimes it's hard to, and it's getting harder to.

'_Then perhaps it is time you listened to her, rather than try to appease her._' The voice said, making me inwardly groan. There it goes again, first it tells me to not rely on Aldith, and now it wants me to do what she says? It really did remind me of my mother with the conflicting advice it gave. I'll ignore it for right now and think on this issue more later, but right now, Wulfric needed to be answered.

"Well, I don't really wanna go into too much detail about my past. It's still kinda painful. I used to be a coordinator in Sinnoh, and I got to be so good I was invited to some really nice events. I've been around rich people and their mannerisms all my life, pretty much, so I know how places like this work." I explained, smirking slightly at what Aldith was getting herself into.

"What about her?" Wulfric asked. My smile faltered, and I looked up at the ceiling.

"Not so much. She ran away from home a few years ago and got caught up with some bad people in Unova. She just came home to start over and figure out what she wants in life. I came here wanting the same thing, and we met because she lived in the town where a friend of mine was gonna get her starter pokemon. Aldith asked me to go on her journey with her because we could help each other, and I agreed for the same reasons." I explained.

"Flaa." Angie said softly as she waddled over to me, leaning against my knee. I smiled and reached down to pet her wool, somewhat sad that there wasn't as much of it for me to pet.

"I'm gonna miss this wool when you evolve into an Ampharos, girl. Maybe I'll get you a sweater when you do." I said with a giggle. Angie rolled her eyes and sighed slightly, but she continued to hug me anyway. Wulfric chuckled and leaned forward to stroke Angie's wool too, and his smile got warmer.

"This is a soft Flaaffy, you take great care of her. So, you gonna introduce me to everyone?" He asked, looking at the rest of our pokemon. I smiled as I looked at them, watching them interact with each other.

"That Braixen is Sabrina, and she was Aldith's starter pokemon. The Flabebe playing with her fur is Fay, and she's mine. That Espurr that's stairing at us is Mitsy, and she's mine. We both own a Noibat, and mine is Sasha, the unruly one, and the cuddly one is Boomer, her brother, who belongs to Aldith. That Litleo chasing them around is also Aldith's, and her name is Nylass, and this here is my partner, Angora, though I call her Angie. That Charmeleon that left with Aldith is hers and his name is Lavier, and she's borrowing a pokemon I can't talk too much about, but her name is Genny." I said, sucking in a deep breath. Wulfric chuckled at me as he watched our pokemon, and we sat in a comfortable silence, enjoying each other's company and watching Nylass chase the Noibats around. We heard loud, rapid thumping outside of the door, and a collection of angry-sounding voices. I couldn't help but smile as I leaned back and listened to the sounds pass by the room. I chuckled as it faded away, and I opened my eyes to grin at Wulfric.

"Can we go save her? That was the sound of people getting ready to throw caviar, and it'll be a nightmare to try and get that out of her clothes." I asked. Wulfric snorted and nodded, standing up.

"Yeah I should probably put a stop to this, let's go." He said, rotating his shoulders and walking to the door. I nodded at him and stood up, grabbing my pokeballs.

"Okay, everyone but Angie return. Sabrina, Nylass, Boomer, you guys ready to get back to Aldith?" I asked as I recalled my pokemon. Sabrina made a sound that was like an annoyed whine as she stood up, returning her wand to the base of her tail. I smiled apologetically at her when I felt something rub up against my leg. I looked down to see Nylass purring and looking up at me sweetly.

"Leo?" She asked sweetly as pressure appeared on my shoulder. I blinked and looked to my right to see Boomer had landed on me, though being the polite gentleman he was he stayed out of my hair to not undo Fay's work. I smiled and scratched his ears appreciatively, bending down to scoop up Nylass.

"Alright, I'll carry you until we get to her." I told the cub, cuddling her against my chest. Nylass mewled appreciatively while Wulfric opened the door, lumbering out. Angie, Sabrina and I followed him out, and he led us down the hall.

"Now, it sounded like they went to the back of the castle, which is where the upper ranks like to spar." Wulfric said as we rounded a corner.

"And, this is a good thing? Aldith is safe?" I asked uneasily. Wulfric snorted as we continued down the hall.

"Perhaps, though they might not be very warm and welcoming. You guys might be above your ranks, but you can't compete with these people, and nothing irritates a trainer more than a waste of their time knockin around newbies. They'll get the stuffy rich folk off her, but they won't show her mercy either, not when all she's got is a Charmeleon." He said, picking up his pace a little bit.

"Uh...what do you mean? Is she in big trouble?" I asked nervously, tightening my grip on Nylass.

"Braixen?" Sabrina asked, walking in front of us and speeding up.

"Uh, she might be. It depends on if they're in a good mood." He said carefully. I ran in front of him and looked at him with wide eyes, not quite believing what I just heard.

"Wait wait wait, you mean you let her go out here, knowing what would happen, and now she's out of the frying pan and into the fire? What were you thinking, Grampa? She and Lavier could get hurt-Come on girls, we gotta help Aldith!" I said, turning away and sprinting down the hall with Sabrina and Angie running beside me.

"Now hang on a minute! Wait!" Wulfric cried behind us, but I chose to ignore him.

'_Such rashness! Where do you expect to get with this? You are not the only one who cares._' The voice told me.

"Oh pipe down, yell at me later." I muttered as I turned another corner, running across a bridge. There was a large crowd gathered on the other side, and I felt my heart drop.

"Angie, Thundershock! Sabrina, use Psybeam!" I cried. The pokemon growled as they threw their attacks at the crowd, hitting the floor near the edge. The people parted and looked at us with wide eyes as we stopped, and I heaved as I tried to catch my breath.

"Celeste?" Aldith's voice asked. My eyes widened and I shot up, looking for her.

"Aldith! Are you okay?! We're here to help...you..what's going on?" I asked, looking around. The crowd looked at me with a mixture of amusement and annoyance. In front of me, Lavier was glaring at me, posed like he was about to strike something, and a large pokemon that vaguely resembled Sasha and Boomer stood in front of him, looking at us patiently.

Behind the pokemon, there was a tall woman in a long, maroon dress. She was adorned in horns and stones, and her sandals had claws that made it look like she had talons rather than feet inside shoes. The most interesting thing I found about her though, was her warm, tender face that was framed by dark grey hair. Her eyes appeared to be closed, though I could tell that it was just age that had made them appear that way.

"Nanna?" I asked. The woman's smile got bigger as she strode over to me with open arms.

"My goodness I can't believe it! Why, the last time I saw you, you were but a babe!" Drasna said. I grinned at her as I set Nylass down, running over and tackling the poor woman into a big hug.

"Wait, Nanna? Celeste, your Nana is a Kalos Elite Four member?" Aldith asked me curiously. I pulled away and looked at Drasna with big eyes.

"Elite Four? Really?! Nanna I'm so happy for you! I was so devastated when Mom sent you away!" I said with a huge grin. I heard Aldith make confused sounds, but Drasna just laughed.

"I never stopped thinking about you though, sweety, and it appears to me that being sent away was not in vain. I'd love to catch up with you, but I must finish my battle with this young lady." She said, gesturing to Aldith. I opened my mouth to say something, but I heard loud, heavy breathing behind me, and turned around to see Wulfric bending down, his hands on his knees, while his sides quickly inflated and deflated.

"I'm too old for this, Celeste they're not gonna hurt her." He said, wheezing. Drasna quickly walked past me and placed a hand on his back, putting the other on his chest and helping him up.

"Oh dear, Wulfric, you mustn't push yourself too hard. We're old, dear, we can't move the way we used to. Can someone bring a chair please?" Drasna said as Wulfric continued to breathe hard.

"Confound it, woman, I'm not one of your charges, I'm a grown man." He growled in irritation. Drasna's face changed ever so slightly, and her smile became dangerous.

"True, but if you don't rest and mind your age, it could end badly for you, dear." She said in a sickly-sweet voice. I grinned sheepishly out of instinct, knowing this side of her too well, as Wulfric stiffened. He said nothing as one of the surrounding trainers brought the requested chair over. He took it without a word and sat down, and Drasna made sure he was comfortable before she strode back to the battlefield. I carefully walked back to stand by Wulfric.

"Back in Sinnoh, she used to be a freelance nanny for well-off families who didn't have time for their own kids. We called her the Dragon Mother because she loved her children, but had a terrible temper. You behaved if the Dragon Mother was nearby, or if you thought she was." I explained. Wulfric chuckled as he leaned back, looking ahead of him at the battle.

"Yeah, that's why she was appointed to the Elite Four, and why she's stayed that way. Diantha might be too scared to have her step down." Wulfric said with a chuckle. I grinned at him as I turned to the battle. Lavier snarled as he spat Dragon Pulse orb after Dragon Pulse orb at Drasna's pokemon, but it was too quick for him. My chest tightened as I watched Aldith and her pokemon, feeling the frustration radiating off of them.

"Grampa, what pokemon is that? The one Nanna is using?" I asked, digging into my purse to try and find my pokedex.

"It's a Noivern, sweety. Your little Noibats are gonna be one someday." He said as I found the device, holding it up to scan the Noivern.

"_Noivern, the Sound Wave pokemon, and the evolved form of Noibat. Their large ears allow them to track prey and navigate no matter how dark it is, and the ultrasonic waves its ears emit are powerful enough to reduce a large boulder to pebbles._" It said as Noivern threw a Dragon Pulse of its own at Lavier. The Charmeleon grunted in pain and got down to one knee, but he wasn't ready to go down just yet. At Aldith's command, he spat a huge ball of fire at the ground, exploding and sending embers into the air. Noivern screeched as the embers licked at its wings. To my surprise, Noivern let loose a stream of fire, engulfing Lavier. I was more surprised when the Flamethrower ended, revealing Lavier on the ground, his teeth clenched.

"Well, it looks like that's that. You did well though, dear. Your Charmeleon is marvelous, and I hope to fight him again when he reaches his full potential." Drasna said, walking up to Aldith. My friend smiled and nodded at Drasna, helping Lavier up and squeezing his shoulder comfortingly.

"Thank you, and thanks for pushing him hard enough for him to learn Flame Burst. We're well on our way to learning Flamethrower, aren't we boy?" She asked. Lavier grinned at her, squeezing his eyes shut and hissing. Aldith frowned as she recalled him, and I thought I heard her murmur an apology to him. I walked briskly across the battlefield and wrapped my arms around Drasna, hugging her tightly.

"I missed you, Nanna." I said as Boomer left me. Drasna chuckled and patted my arms softly before prying them away.

"I missed you too, dear. Why don't we all go back to my chamber and get to know one another? I'd love to hear about what's gone on since I left you." Drasna said, making me wince.

"But, Nanna..." I tried to protest, only for her to give me her disciplining gaze.

"Let's go, sweety. We have a lot of catching up to do." Drasna said, walking away. I frowned behind you, briefly noticing Boomer and Noivern looking friendly with each other, and with a sigh I followed after her, feeling a hand on my shoulder.

"It's okay Celeste, you don't have to say anything you don't want to." Aldith said comfortingly. I smiled at her, happy for her comfort, but Drasna is pretty much the entire reason why I'm here.

I owed it to her to explain how and why.

* * *

TBC

...Am I getting carried away? I feel like I might be getting carried away here.

Ahh, it really is starting to feel like the good old days when I first started Lola. Right down to the obligatory heckler. Thanks hun. ^^ Now all I need is an indecisive community to constantly add and remove the story XD.

So, my brief look into Celeste wasn't as, profitable as I was hoping. Granted, I probably picked a bad time to look into her thoughts, with how messy things have been in her life lately. I learned about how her conversations with her guiding voice work though, so that's something?

Anyway, I'll pick up the pace and wrap things up next chapter *I hope* and we can get back on track. We've been stranded in the Camphrier area for sooooo long. I haven't felt this kind of arc fatigue since...Lumiose? Hm.

See you guys in 27!


	28. Chapter 27: Remember the Past

What a weird day this has been. I didn't exactly know what my journey was going to be like, but I didn't think that in just the first few days of it, I'd get caught up in a region-wide disaster, convinced to be a family with a gym leader without any input from me whatsoever, and end up spending time with a member of the Kalos Elite Four. And yet, what surprised me the most, was that I had thought I knew Celeste. Turns out, I really didn't know her at all. She told me about her journey, but not about the girl before the journey.

But for right now, that could wait. We sat in Drasna's room, which did not look all that different from Wulfric's room except for the framed stone tablet depicting two pokemon I didn't recognize, mounted on the wall similar to the portrait of Neige. There was also a large table taking up most of the room, and we all sat around it, with Celeste right next to me. I held her hand and squeezed it every so often as she recounted her painful experiences as a coordinator to Drasna. I was surprised by how freely she volunteered this information when it took me a few tries to pry it out from her, but I didn't care about that right now. What I cared about was being her support, and be ready to smack some sense into her if she tried to retreat into herself. Drasna's face didn't change at all as Celeste told her story, but I could see Wulfric was eager to chime in. He didn't dare though out of fear of invoking Drasna's wrath. When Celeste finally finished, she stared at the table with tears in her eyes, hanging onto my hand as though her life depended on it.

"My my, you've been through quite a lot since I left, haven't you? I heard about that poaching ring, but I didn't think it would strike so close to home. You're not holding up well at all, my dear. You need to let this go." Drasna said gently. Celeste sighed, saying nothing and refusing to look anywhere else but the table. We sat in an awkward silence, tension filling the air like water. The only one who looked comfortable was Drasna, though it was hard to tell because she masked her emotions well. I glanced over at Wulfric to see if he was going to break the silence, but he was focusing on Celeste like he agreed with Drasna. I did too, but that was still no reason to put Celeste on the spot like this. We can't just force her to get past this.

"So, Drasna was your Nanna? How did that happen?" I asked, offering Celeste a way out.

'_Running from your problems does not fix them, avoiding that which causes you pain does not make it go away. Standing up to the issue is the only way to resolve it._' Said the voice. For once, I was not going to act on it's advice. Maybe it was right, maybe it wasn't, but there is a time and place for everything, and this was neither. I was rewarded for my resolve by the small, appreciative smile Celeste gave me, sniffing back her tears and shaking her head.

"Mom's the CEO of Jubilife TV, the biggest broadcasting station in Sinnoh. My older brother is being groomed to take over, my older sister eloped, and my little sisters are twins who can do no wrong in Mom's eyes. I'm the middle child, and I was supposed to just accept whatever role she wanted me to have and take the blame for all the mischief my sisters made." Celeste said bitterly.

"I was hired to raise Celeste and her sisters according to her standard while she focused on her brother. Of course, I'm not one to make children into little automatons that will do whatever they are told. I raised my children to behave and to aspire to great things." Drasna added with a smile. Celeste smiled back at her and nodded.

"Yeah, after she divorced Dad she wanted me and my siblings to help her run the company. She wanted to start a media mafia and so she hired Drasna to whip me and my sisters into shape because of her reputation for getting unruly children under control. Instead, Drasna told us stories about her journey, and all the fun she had with her pokemon, and was unafraid to punish my sisters when they misbehaved." Celeste continued.

"That wasn't what the missus had in mind though. When she was told that I was rearing her children to be independent and find their own paths, she fired me, and saw to it that I could not nanny in Sinnoh again." Drasna said, her smile faltering slightly.

"What? How was she able to do that?" I asked, somewhat doubtful.

"Whoever controls the media, controls the people of the region. All Mom had to do was tell her news crew 'I don't want this woman to be able to work in Sinnoh again, make it happen' and they'll take care of the rest. Most people will trust a hot reporter, facts or no facts." Celeste said, looking at Drasna apologetically. Dransa waved at Celeste dismissively, looking up briefly at the ceiling, watching her Noivern have a quiet conversation with our Noibats.

"Don't look at me like that, dear. It was not your fault, and I do not regret anything I told you and my previous charges. My experiences with children have enriched my life greatly, and have made me what I am today. The fact that I was able to inspire you to be more than what your mother wanted made this all the more worth it." Drasna said warmly. Celeste smiled at her, then her brows furrowed in confusion.

"So, what are you doing all the way out here? And how did you get to be a member of the Elite Four?" She asked, tilting her head.

"That is a very good question, my dear, what am I doing in Kalos as a member of the Elite Four?" Drasna replied cheekily.

"I'm a little curious too. Celeste came here to blend in, yet you're far from obscure out here." I said, blinking. Drasna chuckled and leaned back.

"Well, initially it was just for the obscurity. In case you haven't noticed, Kalos likes to keep to itself. The people out here don't care very much about what happens in other regions, aside from the occasional gossip. I can't have children of my own, you see, so I wanted to continue to be a nanny. Unfortunately, freelancing is hard out here because few families actually want a nanny, and I refuse to work for an agency because they are all about politics and moneymaking." She said with a smile. The smile was sad, but at the same time happy, like she was relieved.

"So, Kalos likes to raise its own children, and you decide to join the Elite Four?" I asked. Drasna laughed and reached up, silently calling for her pokemon. Noivern descended from the ceiling and landed beside her chair, looming over her.

"One does not simply decide to join the Elite Four, dear. Not in Kalos. The Champion is the one who gets to pick their Elite Four. I wanted to be a Gym Leader. Having a barren womb is such a burden, but I do so desperately wish to do my part in helping the next generation. If I can't raise a child, then I would teach my challengers. Not knowing anyone else out here, I approached the Elite Four and challenged King Richard, hoping he would give me a gym. Instead, when he heard my story, he decided to replace one of his Elite Four with me, promising me that when he took a wife, I'd get to rear his children." She said with a chuckle as she stroked the fur on her Noivern's neck.

"Wow, Richard sounds, a little arrogant. Gramps?" I asked, looking at Wulfric. Wulfric chuckled and shook his head slowly.

"Yeah, Richard was a card. He wanted to be the next Sagesse, and demanded everyone address him as 'King Richard'. I actually laughed when I heard his all-powerful Mega Charizard lost to a little girl and her Gardevoir. She didn't even have the means to mega-evolve Gardevoir at the time and she still mopped the floor with him." he said, snickering. I couldn't help but chuckle myself, since I actually remembered a time when Richard was Champion. He was a very intimidating-looking guy, and so was his Charizard, especially when it Mega-Evolved with it's Charizardite X. Losing to a competitively-mediocre pokemon like a normal Gardevoir just didn't sound as climactic as I had thought. Of course, this meant that Diantha was dangerous.

"You know, maybe he was arrogant, but it's not like it wasn't partially earned. Richard was scary, he permanently crippled many challenger's pokemon, often their signature pokemon." I said with a shudder. Wulfric snorted, looking bitterly at the table.

"That's the main reason why he couldn't be Sagesse. Sagesse was strong, he knew it, but he didn't flaunt it. He NEVER, ever, intentionally injured one of his challengers, and if he did, he stopped the battle to make sure his challenger's pokemon were okay. Only if HE thought that they could continue battle would he resume. I figure that's another reason he picked Doux. A Fairy-Typed champion would be much more gentle than a Dragon Master. Doux couldn't hurt potential successors unless he really, really wanted to, whereas accidents happened even with Sagesse's self-restraint." Wulfric said.

"Regardless, I didn't want to turn such an offer down. I saw it as my chance to be able to raise children again as well as put all my training as a Dragon Master to use. I can't say I was disappointed when Diantha took over though. I see my chances of rearing a Champion's children being much better with her than with Richard." She said, making me giggle. It got quiet again, though this time it was a comfortable silence. We were all in a much better mood than when we first came in, I didn't have the heart to break this blissful moment.

The dragons, on the other hands, weren't so reluctant. Sasha and Boomer came down from the ceiling to resume their conversation with Noivern, the sounds of excited squeaking and trills filling the room. We watched them in amusement as Noivern tilted its head at them, nodding every so often as Sasha and Boomer alternated talking to it. It was always interesting to see pokemon interact with their evolutions and pre-evolutions, since it was clearly a polarizing subject to them. I wasn't surprised with Boomers adoration of Noivern so much as I was by Sasha's excitement at seeing it.

"Man, I kinda wish Vixen were here. I'd love to know what's so exciting about this Noivern that even Sasha's gushing." I said, amused by the scene.

"Wha? Oh! Right, she can talk to her Hydreigon. Well, maybe Noivern reminds them of home. I mean, they were part of a big clan in the east, right?" Celeste said, drawing Drasna and Wulfric's attention.

"I beg your pardon? You say your friend speaks pokemon?" Wulfric asked. Drasna chuckled at his question and shook her head.

"No, dear, I'm fairly certain Affinities are at work here." Drasna said. Wulfric snorted and crossed his arms, his eye twitching in irritation.

"Not that mumbo jumbo again. Affinities aren't real, they're just made up magical powers told to children to make them excited about pokemon so that they're more willing to become trainers." Wulfric said in a matter-of-fact tone. Drasna looked like she was going to respond, but I decided to beat her to the punch. This was a topic I was well-versed in thanks to my involvement in Team Plasma. I did my research to make sure I knew what I was fighting for, and he was challenging the conclusions I came to. I knew that I was also challenging his beliefs, which are deep-rooted at his age, so he was going to be a worthy opponent.

Bring it on, old man!

* * *

TBC

I feel I should point this out because Skyfire was understandably confused, but Drasna actually is from Sinnoh. She grew up there to stories about Dialga and Palkia and that's what inspired her to be a Dragon trainer. That part is all canon. Now, what she's doing in Kalos was not explained in the games, but I like to think my theory is close to canon :P

I...I have no words. This chapter got weird, like, REALLY weird. It got so weird I had to divide it up so chapter 28 is going to be out not too long. Buckle up guys, it's gonna get a little complicated and strange, especially near the end of the debate.

Brace yourselves, 28 is coming.


	29. Chapter 28: The Great Debate

It was on. A former fanatic against someone who was set in his ways. I enjoyed a good debate, though it was kind of tough to find a worthy opponent who could stay civil.

"Affinities are very real, Vixen's dual-Affinities form the core of her bond with Lola. I've had conversations with pokemon through their interpretation, in fact, Sasha and Boomer are with us because of their connection." I said. Wulfric looked at me in annoyance, like he wasn't used to being challenged this way.

"Whatever you think you saw, it wasn't real. People don't talk with their pokemon unless they or their pokemon can use telepathy, which itself can only be used by Psychic-types and people with high psychic power. If this Affinity thing were true, people would be able to talk to all pokemon matching their type, not just one." Wulfric said with a snort. Celeste opened her mouth to say something, but was stopped by Drasna, who was watching me carefully.

"Vixen is no psychic, if she was she would have gotten into less trouble than she did. What I'm curious about is that you believe in people with psychic powers, but you don't believe in Affinities? What about long-term Evolutionary theory that says humans were pokemon at one point in time? That we are a different kind of pokemon altogether?" I asked.

"I've heard of that theory, alright. We're a kind of pokemon that put all of our natural energy into our minds so that we could have an intellectual advantage over other pokemon, and the root of pokemon training comes from other pokemon seeking us out for wisdom to get stronger and becoming apprentices to us. That's all fine and dandy, but there are some holes in that theory." He said, uncrossing his arms to rest his elbows on the table.

"Oh? Like what? What proof do you need beyond psychics existing with very real psychic powers that can enable them to do fantastic things not unlike a pokemon's attack?" I asked, tilting my head.

"Your friend with the Hydreigon. You say she's dual-typed? Those types wouldn't happen to be Dragon and Dark, would they?" He asked, making me blink.

"Yes, and I have a dual Fire and Dark Affinity. Your point?" I asked.

"Alright, have either of you learned Dark Pulse? Or Flamethrower? Or Dragon Claw?" He asked.

"Of course not. The theory states we are unable to use attacks other than Psychic-based ones because we put all of our innate energy, the kind that is said to power attacks and evolution, into our minds so that we could be superior on an intellectual level. A Feraligator looks like it should be able to, but it will never be capable of learning Flamethrower because over time, the Totodile line focused their energy into being a Water elemental. Psychic pokemon are the closest to us intellectually because they evolved over time the same way we did." I explained. Celeste and Drasna looked at Wulfric, waiting for his rebuttal.

"Then why are we capable of having multiple 'types'? If you are right, we humans are a Psychic-typed pokemon. Why all this Affinity nonsense?" He asked.

"Because we don't have multiple types, we have one. We are Normal-typed pokemon, we are able to manifest different types depending on our personal interpretations of life that we adapt to. It's almost like we have an _Affinity_ for certain types. Because we spent so much of our innate energy on our minds alone, we can't produce attacks other than the few of us who can use Psychic attacks because of their Psychic affinity. We only radiate just enough energy of different types that pokemon can identify us as those types, so someone with a Fairy Affinity will be well-liked by Fairy-typed pokemon, or at least tolerated more than other people. At the same time, someone with a Fairy Affinity might not get a warm welcome from Dragon-typed pokemon." I answered.

"Then why are we not able to understand pokemon? Why do we need telepathy at all?" He asked.

"The same reason why the regions still keep to themselves more than they interact. We have created our own societies in the form of regions. Each region has its own culture, its own mindset, and even its own dialect. All humans speak the same language now, but we had different languages from each other a long, long time ago. For example, Ancient Kalosian and Ancient Unovan are two totally different languages that have nothing in common with each other. Not until they both faded away to the common tongue we speak now. The pokemon are united though. Maybe they have had different languages in the past like we did, but they have always been able to understand each other. We evolved away from them politically speaking, which is why we can't understand them anymore." I replied. Wulfric smirked then, like he had caught me in a trap.

"They can understand us though. We can call out attacks, and they execute them. I could tell your Noibats to fly up to the chandelier, and they'll go up there. You can tell a pokemon to make you breakfast the next morning and you'll wake up to toast or cereal or bacon. If we truly evolved away from them, why can they still understand us?" Wulfric asked, looking smug. I stared at him with wide eyes, unsure of how to answer him. I really, really wanted to, because this was probably the first civil debate I have ever had, and I didn't want to lose just yet. Suddenly, I was filled with an amused aura, like I was being watched by a coach.

'_I should stay out of this, but your thoughts are interesting. Your intellect may have increased, but at the cost of your awareness._' The voice said, its amusement bubbling away. I was confused at first by what it said, trying to figure out what it meant. We weren't unaware of our surroundings, if anything, humans have come up with new ways of always knowing what is around them.

...At least, we like to think so. The arrogance of mankind is a topic that has been discussed to death and beyond, a thought that made another bubble of amusement well up inside of me before it was gone. We think we know what goes on around us, but how can we really be sure?

"You know how police always pair up human and pokemon officers? Why is that?" I asked, making Wulfric snort.

"Why, for protection of course. That still doesn't answer my question." He said, trying to sound patient. I grinned at him as I stood up from my seat. He looked at me weirdly as I put my hands on the table, pushing against it to raise myself up until I was doing a handstand. I bent my arms quickly and snapped them into a striaght position quickly, flipping over Wulfric, Drasna, and Noivern and landing in a crouch behind them.

"Do I look like I need protecting?" I asked with a smirk. I recoiled slightly at the different stares I got. Wulfric and Noivern were staring at me in shock, while Celeste, Sasha, and Boomer looked at me in amazement, like they just watched the coolest thing in the world. Oddly enough, Drasna seemed to be unfazed by my stunt, but I was still very uncomfortable by all the attention.

"How in the world did you do that? Y-you're not, a Zoroark or anything, right?" Wulfric asked blinking rapidly at me. I straightened myself quickly and scratched the back of my head, looking at the wall.

"W-well no. First of all, Zoroark can't form independent sentences in their illusions, they can only mimic phrases they hear, and it sounds clipped and uneven if they try to piece different words together if they haven't heard them used in sequence. I'm just trying to make a point here. With proper training, humans can fight pokemon with their bare hands. It's harder for us, we don't have quite the same endurance, but we can do it." I said nervously, drawing invisible circles on the floor with my left foot.

"That was so cool! I wish I coulda seen you fight those Pyroar now!" Celeste said, leaning forward on the table. My face felt hot, I knew I was blushing. I wasn't exactly proud of what I could do, given why I was able to do it, so when someone called attention to it and praised it, it made me feel a little gross. Though as fast as the feeling came, it went away just as quickly, replacing it with a comforting feeling. Knowing where it came from this time, I wanted to apologize for ignoring the advice given to me earlier.

'_There is no need to apologize, as you said, there is a time and place for everything. Sometimes you need to trust your own instincts before you trust someone else, no matter how wise you think they are._' The voice said. I was glad to know that this time, I not only made a decision that conflicted with my guide, it turned out to be the wiser choice.

"Well?" Said a voice, snapping me out of my thoughts. I blinked as I recognized the voice as Wulfric's.

"Huh?" I asked.

"I said you made your point. Humans can defend themselves against pokemon with the right training, which the police certainly could have. If their pokemon partners are not their protectors, what are they?" He asked. I blinked, still somewhat dazed, but managed to remember my argument for the debate.

"They are what the humans lack, perception. We gave up a lot for our wisdom and intuition. We gave up the ability to evolve and use fantastic powers, and we also gave up perception. We just can't detect things the way they do. They know this, and they can stay hidden if they really, really want to. There is no reason to think that just because we didn't see them, pokemon weren't there with us every step of the way. They didn't have the capacity to reproduce our language beyond one or two words that became their names, but they still have the ability to know what we say." I said composing myself. Wulfric pursed his lips together, crossing his arms and nodding at me.

"Well, you've certainly made your case. Where did you learn all that?" He asked, looking at me carefully.

"Uh, well a few years ago the whole 'humans versus pokemon' subject was the center of controversy in Unova, and I did some research on it to see if I could find the answers of where we all came from and what makes us so different. This is a culmination of that research." I said. Wulfric smirked slightly at me, which had me a little suspicious.

"So, this is all just your own theory? Nothing that is supported by concrete evidence?" He asked wryly. Shit.

"Well...EEG's of humans with psychic powers are very similar to the EEG's of Psychic-type pokemon, and humans who display psychic powers usually attribute the ability to having a Psychic Affinity." I replied shakily. Wulfric's grin got even bigger. He had me and he knew it.

"Well, until you start breathing fire, all of that is just fairy tales and hearsay. Young people are getting worse and worse, each generation is trying to get closer to being pokemon, kids today are even dressing up as pokemon outside of Halloween! There was a word for that, what was it?" He said, stroking his beard in irritation.

"Are you talking about Gijinkas?" Celeste asked. Wulfric's eyes widened slightly as he turned to Celeste.

"That's exactly it! Aldith by your argument, we should have pokemon-human hybrids like Gijinkas because pokephelia could produce viable young. Where in history has that ever been true?" He asked, making me blink stupidly.

"I-what? How did we get from proving Affinities to pokephelia?" I asked. Drasna cleared her throat, and we looked at her as she breathed deeply.

"Pokephelia was widely practiced in many regions in history, in fact it is still being practiced today even though it is frowned upon now. No one is disputing this, it is fact plain and simple. Pokephelia is not about reproduction, everyone agrees on this because no matter how many times the act is done, the female never conceives. That is all that will be said on the subject, as it has nothing to do with your original debate. The same goes for Gijinkas, that lifestyle is about merging humanity with pokemon, whereas your argument is about proving humans ARE pokemon." Drasna said.

"But, of course it has everything to do with our argument! If we were pokemon we could successfully breed with them, and you just said we can't." Wulfric said, recoiling slightly when Drasna looked at him.

"Not necessarily. Not all pokemon are capable of reproducing with each other. An Eevee can sire an egg with a Treecko, but it cannot sire an egg with a Muk. We have a catalog of egg groups and what pokemon is where specifically because we know this. Among the categories, we have the 'undiscovered' group which essentially means we can't figure out what they can breed with outside of their species." Drasna said.

"But-"

"Aldith's argument does stand on the grounds that we are possibly our own egg group, mainly because we don't lay our eggs, we incubate our own embryos so that our bodies can use more resources developing our young properly. Our birth survival rate is relatively more successful as a result. Is this enough concrete proof for you? It is supported by actual facts, after all." Drasna said, cutting off Wulfric's interruption. He coughed slightly, turning away from her and focusing entirely on me.

"Alright well, anything else ya got?" He asked me. I blinked at him, unsure of how to answer his rather broad question. Did Drasna's interference shake him up? I blinked slowly at him and smiled softly.

"I've got a lot, and I've got experience. Maybe I don't breath fire, but I've seen Affinities at work, and I can't see any difference between pokemon to pokemon interactions and human to pokemon interactions. We don't know everything about pokemon, and it's unlikely that we could be a separate life form entirely from them." I said, wanting to let him off the hook. Wulfric didn't take the hint though, and narrowed his eyes at me.

"We can't use a single attack though. I find it hard to believe that a pokemon that can't use any formal attack exists." He said stubbornly. I sighed and crossed my arms, smirking at him.

"Magikarp." I said simply. Wulfric made a choking sound, looking at me in annoyance.

"Well now you're just being cheeky. I'm not gonna get anywhere with you, am I?" He asked.

"Nope. I've seen things you couldn't imagine, so you're not going to convince me anytime soon." I said with a grin. Wulfric sighed and shook his head, turning to the door.

"Fair enough, just make sure you stay in the real world, darlin. Don't go thinking you can stop a pokemon yourself just because you think you are a pokemon." He said, walking to the door.

"I pinned down an angry male Pyroar and nearly tore out its jugular. I can handle myself in a crisis." I said. Wulfric stopped and looked at me in surprise, his eyes softening slightly.

"Just, be careful. I've got work to do, so I'll see you two later." He said, opening the door and stepping out.

"Bye Grampa! See you later!" Celeste called after him. I could hear Wulfric's chuckle as he closed the door.

"Well, that was certainly entertaining." Drasna said, chuckling softly. I grinned sheepishly at her as I took a seat at the table.

"I definitely did not see that coming. I wind up with a grandfather, find out I'm traveling with a princess, and get into a weird debate about humans being pokemon, with a little dash of pokephelia added to the mix. This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder." I mused. Celeste snickered as she sat back down, watching the pokemon who had long since resumed their conversation.

"You're telling me. Hey Nanna? You work closely with Diantha, right?" Celeste asked, making me curious. Drasna frowned slightly and sighed, shaking her head and sitting down.

"No dear, that's not what the Elite Four does in Kalos, I'm afraid. This is not Sinnoh. I'm little more than an attack dog for her. That's all the Elite Four is, pretty much." She said sadly.

"We met Siebold at a cafe in Lumiose, he pretty much said the same thing, only you guys get an awful lot of free time while Diantha does all the heavy lifting." I said. Drasna chuckled, leaning back in her seat.

"Aye, we do. Siebold is young, and has his whole life ahead of him. He was rather disappointed that he can't really serve his region the way other Elite Fours do in theirs. Our job is essentially to screen challengers for Diantha and make sure everyone is following her laws. We do get to do whatever we want to, regardless of local laws and whatnot, but any enforcer actions we take we have to answer to Diantha for." She replied. So, they were a little bit more powerful than Siebold had said, but the Elite Four was still kind of a joke compared to other regions. Especially considering they can be replaced at any time for any reason without warning here.

"Well, I was only asking because earlier, it was mentioned that Diantha's Gardevoir wasn't able to Mega Evolve at the time when it beat Richard's Charizard. When and where did she get the mega stones?" Celeste asked. I blinked incredulously at her, not expecting her to be so on-task with Sycamore's request. I had to admit, even though this was a perfect opportunity to find out about Mega Evolution, it never dawned on me to ask Drasna about it.

"Oh, it happened some time ago, perhaps about a couple of years or so. Diantha was working on a movie and her Gardevoir wandered off the set. She followed it and tried to get it to come back, but Gardevoir wouldn't listen, and it came to a cliff face. It blasted the rock wall, and out came two little marbles, a key stone and a Gardevoirite. Supposedly, when Diantha touched the key stone at the same time Gardevoir grabbed the mega stone, Gardevoir mega evolved, and I heard it was quite chaotic." Drasna said, making me tilt my head.

"Chaotic? What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, Diantha told me Gardevoir went berserk and started attacking everything in sight, except for her. The rampage lasted for around five minutes before the power faded, but in that time, Gardevoir laid waste to the area, and even destroyed a handful of really expensive equipment. She was lucky that her director loved the footage from that event." Drasna said, smiling wryly. I tilted my head the other direction and furrowed my brow at her.

"What? But, that doesn't make sense. I was with Vixen when she went to challenge the Unova League, and during a lunch break after beating two of the Elite Four, her Salamence flew off and came back mysteriously, and her very next battle, Sarah coughed up a Key Stone and Vixen mega evolved her. Sarah did not lose control at all, and even stayed in that state and followed us to the battle against the last member." I said, remembering the incident like it had just happened recently. Drasna hummed and nodded at nothing in particular.

"You say the first mega evolution took place during a battle? Perhaps Sarah appeared not to lose control because she had a valid target for her attacks. She was able to channel her aggression into the fight so she could focus. Mega Evolution is triggered by the human directly touching the Key Stone, which is why every trainer who uses it keeps their Key Stone on some sort of apparel that keeps the marble off of their skin, while still giving access to being used. Diantha didn't know what she was doing and made the mistake of touching her Key Stone while Gardevoir had nothing to focus on." Drasna explained.

"Which means that when Gardevoir went bonkers, the only thing it could concentrate on was not hurting Diantha? What causes that heightened aggression though?" Celeste asked. Drasna shook her head and folded her hands on her lap.

"Your guess is as good as mine. I only gave you a theory based on the two different circumstances in which this occurred. I'm not quite as interested in the concept of Mega Evolution as others are, so I've never put too much thought into it." Drasna said. I smiled and looked at the table, thinking the conversation over. There was still so much to learn about Mega Evolution, and though we learned quite a bit about it today, it was only a fraction of what there is to understand. I appreciated it all the same though, because it was still more than we had.

It was enough for right now.

* * *

TBC

Told ya things were gonna get weird.

I used to be in the debate club when I was in middle school. It was fun, and I actually like getting into debates with people, especially about controversial things. Debating is a great way to see things from a new perspective, and learn stuff about your topic that you never knew before, but only if done right. Debating is not just about tearing apart your opponents arguments, it's mainly about proving your own point, and you NEED to have a neutral moderator to keep things on topic, lest it becomes a competition to see who can fling the most mud, and everyone regresses to preschoolers.

For the record, I have nothing against gijinkas, exactly. They make me a little uncomfortable for reasons I don't care to explain here. I'm aware that they are popular with a large chunk of the fanbase though, you yourself may like them, and that's okay! It's just, not my thing.

That said, I'm actually using the word gijinka as a placeholder for a different word to describe a different sort of group. Basically, gijinkas here are the pokemon equivalent of furries, which I am much less squicked out by because humans are not part of the equation with them. True some of them are incredibly creepy, but it's a pretty tame group that keeps to itself for the most part.

ANYWHO, see you guys in chapter 29.


	30. Chapter 29: Memories and Hope

After the discussion about Mega Evolution, Celeste and I decided it was time to head back. Wulfric was right when he said we wouldn't be able to get effective training here, we just weren't strong enough yet. It was somewhat disappointing, since I believe Count Parfume really thought he was helping us by getting us in there. I did enjoy the experience there though, so at least there's that.

On the walk back, we decided to compare notes. Celeste told me more about her family life, or the lack-thereof. Her older sister was the oldest and was set to take over, but she didn't want to be their mother's pawn, so she ran away to the Kanto region with a boy she liked and they went on a journey and got married. Celeste's mom disowned her and prepared her brother, the next oldest, to take over, and let Celeste and her younger sisters run wild. The sisters were the favorites in the family, and they got Celeste into trouble all the time. Broken vases, ruined furniture, giant messes all over the mansion, Celeste got blamed for it all. Drasna was hired to get Celeste under control, and it turned out, she was more of a mother to Celeste than her biological mother was.

Celeste ran away from home sometime after Drasna was dismissed for daring to punish the twins, but Celeste's mom decided to let her go on her journey anyway because she thought having a famous coordinating daughter would be great business, and she could serve as a company mascot of sorts. When the poaching scandal broke out and her mother got wind of Celeste being apart of it, she completely disowned Celeste as well. I felt really bad for her, until I noticed her impassive face, like she didn't care. She glanced at me and grinned at my shocked expression.

"I couldn't care less about my family, really, except maybe my older sister. She saw what was coming and got out of it fast, and I respect that. My brother is a mama's boy and my little sisters are spoiled brats. Mom doesn't see us as her children, we're her pawns. About the only motherly thing she ever did for me was give me a check for around ten grand so that I could leave Sinnoh and start a new life elsewhere." She explained, crossing her arms in annoyance.

"Well, that must mean she cares about you in some way, I mean, ten grand is a hefty sum of money." I said, blinking at her. Celeste snorted and smirked, like I was being overly hopeful.

"She only did that so I could get out of her life. I'm an even bigger disgrace to the family than my older sister is. In fact, I think I watched a news story about how her beloved daughter was murdered by one of the poachers." She said nonchalantly. I stumbled and stared at her with wider eyes, but she just smiled comfortingly at me.

"How can you be okay with that? I don't believe that you are." I said, narrowing my eyes at her.

"You can't miss something you never had. I didn't have a real mother until Nanna Drasna came into my life. I didn't have a family until I left Professor Rowan's lab with Triton. I didn't have a real friend who cared about me until I ran into you at the Aquacorde Station...literally." She said, rubbing her head sheepishly at the last part. I blinked at her and tilted my head.

"What about Serena? And Shauna?" I asked. Celeste smiled as she watched our Noibats fly past us.

"I like them, I really do, but we weren't really 'friends'. Even now Shauna is more like a rival. I'm a performer, Aldith, my duty is to give and smile while I do it. Serena wanted Shauna to go on her journey, Shauna wanted the opportunity to go on her own and prove herself. I pushed the professor to get the starters out so Shauna could go out faster, and though I wanted to, I respected her wishes and fought your mom so she could go alone." She said, straying off the path to sit on the edge of the riverbank. I sighed at her and walked over to sit next to her, staring at the water.

"You don't want to be alone." I said simply. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Celeste nod, her eyes tearing up a little bit.

"No, I don't. I grew up in a big fancy mansion where I was just a number even to my own mother. I was alone until Drasna came into my life, and when she left, I left as well to seek out the affection I craved. Coordinating gave that to me, but for a price. When I was on that stage, weaving my magic, everyone loved me. Then that was all taken away." She said, pawing at the ground. She grabbed a small pebble and wordlessly threw it at the water, the stone skipping a couple of times before plummeting into the water below.

"You told me none of that was real, so maybe it was for the best. Why don't you want to be alone, though?" I asked, grabbing a pebble and throwing it. It just plopped into the water, as I had expected it to.

"Well, part of me misses that. I wanted a travel buddy because I still want to make other people happy, and I figured that if I keep company and keep them entertained, it won't hurt as much when I flash back, and then at some point I won't flash back anymore." Celeste said, grabbing another pebble and throwing it. I watched it skip across the running water and frowned at it, wondering how she managed to do it.

"How has that worked out for you?" I asked, throwing another pebble. Again, it just sank to the bottom of the river. I heard Celeste breathe in deeply and she grabbed my hand, curling my fingers over a pebble.

"Throw it, don't toss it. The rushing water will make it bounce. You don't need as much force since the water isn't still." She said, grabbing a pebble of her own and showing me how hard to throw it. I imitated her and tried to throw it a little gentler, and this time the pebble bounced off the water once before falling in.

"That doesn't answer my question." I said. Celeste sighed and laid back on the riverbank, looking up at the sky.

"Well...it hasn't. It still hurts, and these last few days has made it hurt even more. Real life is scary, Aldith, sometimes I wish I could go back to the days when I was a coordinator. Nothing big was at stake, my life wasn't on the line, every day was fun." She said, staring up at the clouds. I frowned at her and laid back myself, my elbow brushing against hers.

"Let me tell you what my voice told me. When we were listening to Wulfric talk about Neige, I was told that if you live in the past, you aren't really living. I can't say I know what you're feeling, because I don't miss my past. I don't miss Team Plasma, I don't miss hurting other people to further my own goals, and I don't miss feeling like at any moment, someone was going to discover I was a double-agent and kill me with a poisoned knife." I said, wincing slightly.

"Isn't there anything you miss about being in Team Plasma? Surely you weren't miserable all the time, right?" Celeste asked. I wanted to say no, but I felt like I would have been lying. I closed my eyes and thought back, trying to find anything positive I could give to her. A streak of yellow briefly flashed in my mind, and my eyes snapped open and I shot upright. Celeste raised a brow at me as I dug through my purse, looking for something that I had almost forgotten about.

_My boots clacked loudly on the stones as I walked through the polished, pristine castle. I was somewhat irritated, wondering what in our king's name was more important than finding one of the great dragons of Unova. I wanted to continue leading my platoon, even going out to look myself, but Barret insisted I come to a conference room first. He wouldn't tell me why, just that I had to be there as soon as I could._

_I arrived at the door to the Red conference room, where I was told to attend a special meeting. I could hear soft voices inside, so quiet I couldn't make out the words. I snorted and walked up to the door, grabbing at the knob and twisting. I tried to push the door open, but something blocked it from the other side. I gritted my teeth and tried again, and though the door moved a little bit, it slammed back shut._

_"I don't have time for this! Let me in or my Liepard will!" I growled._

_"One sec!" Barret's voice called, sounding amused. I gritted my teeth and pulled away from the door, grabbing Romeo's pokeball._

_"One, two-" I started, only to be interrupted by the door cracking open. I snorted again and returned my pokeball to my belt, walking up to the door and smacking it with the side of my fist._

_"SURPRISE!" Everyone yelled as they jumped up, the lights turning on. I stared in shock as the lieutenants of my platoon smiled at me, their hoods pulled back and a box in each of their hands. On the table they surrounded was a cake with Team Plasma's emblem on it._

_"Wha, what is this?" I asked, blinking stupidly at everyone. An arm snaked its way across my shoulders, and I turned to see Barret beaming at me._

_"Don't tell me you forgot it was your birthday?" He said. I blinked again and absentmindedly grabbed the box, looking around at everyone._

_"Well, no but, we have work to do! I want us to be the unit that presents our lord N with his dragon." I said quietly._

_"And we will, with how hard we have all been working. No one works harder than you do, sir, you need to take a break once in awhile." Said one of the guys, setting his gift on the table by the cake and sitting down._

_"When's a better time to rest than your birthday? Have some cake, enjoy the presents, enjoy yourself for once!" Said another, doing the same. I wanted to turn down the gesture, wanted to get back to work, but part of me was really touched. I was always somewhat worried at how my all-male lieutenants felt about being bossed around by a female commander, but the fact that they all came together to do this for me, I suppose it couldn't hurt to indulge a little bit._

_This was nice, sitting around the table and talking with the guys. We talked about work, and about stuff that was on TV, just random things while we ate the chocolate cake that they bribed the cooks to make. During the conversation and the cake eating, I began to unwrap all of the presents, thanking their givers in turn. I was given ankle-holsters for carrying extra knives, a new belt for carrying my pokeballs, and the table erupted in laughs when I opened a rather inappropriate present from my newest lieutenant._

_After I finished mock-scolding him, though part of me was somewhat grateful for the present and looked forward to using it, I put all of my presents back into the biggest box and stood up to go back to my room. I thanked everyone heartily for coming together to celebrate, then warned them not to dawdle because we needed to get back to work soon. __There was a knock on the door as I put all my new possessions away, but I didn't need to open it to know who it was._

_"So, I take it this was your idea?" I asked as Barret came into the room, sitting on my bed._

_"Yeah, though I wasn't expecting Nero's present. I swear I had no idea he was going to do that." He said sheepishly. I chuckled as I put the offending item into the drawer._

_"Don't worry about it, it's fine. Women my age should have at least one anyway. Thanks for the party though, it was fun." I said, standing up and sitting next to Barret on the bed. I looked at him with a smile and noticed he had a box in his lap, and I tilted my head at him._

_"What's that? I thought the party was your present?" I said. Barret chuckled as he presented the box to me._

_"Well, no. We all pitched in for that, I just wanted to wait until we were alone to give this to you. It's your favorite, isn't it?" He asked. I blinked curiously at him as I took the box, opening it up and looking inside. I gasped as I reached in, pulling it out and looking at it in surprise._

_"I...I love it! Thanks so much!" I said, setting the present down on my pillow and pulling Barret into a hug. He hummed as he hugged me back, pulling away and standing up._

_"I just, wanted you to know that you have friends here. Let me know if you find anything about one of the dragons and I'll take a squad out." He said, leaving my room. I smiled after him, and when he was gone, turned to the figure on my pillow._

I held the Fennekin lantern in my hands, staring at it in longing. With a sharp breath, I pulled it closer and hugged the plastic pokemon. I didn't want to cry, not in front of Celeste, but there WAS something I missed about Team Plasma, something I had buried deep in my mind a long time ago. I lost my control when I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I began to cry softly as Celeste's soothing voice reassured me. I felt a pair of arms pull me closer, and I allowed Celeste to hold onto me while I clung to my lantern. Soon my crying slowed, and I sat back up and set the Fennekin lantern into my lap. I sniffled as Celeste offered me a tissue. I took it and dabbed at my face, blowing my nose and shuddering while she gently patted my back.

"I didn't mean to make you cry, I'm sorry." Celeste said miserably. I chuckled and shook my head.

"Don't be, repressed memories don't stay that way for long. It was going to come out at some point, it needed to." I told her. Celeste gave me a sad smile as she turned to look at the pokemon figurine in my lap, reaching out and rubbing a finger over one of its ears.

"I heard about these lanterns. Who gave this to you? Someone special?" She asked. I smirked as I picked up the Fennekin, holding it out to Celeste so she could get a closer look at it.

"You could say that. His name was Barret, he was my top lieutenant in my unit, and one of my best friends. He gave this to me for my birthday, and I really liked him." I said. Celeste grinned cheekily as she inspected the lantern.

"Oh really now? So uh, how far did you go with him?" She asked. I sputtered as I felt my face heat up, and I crossed my arms.

"For the record we weren't a thing! We could have been though...if only I brought him with me." I said, grabbing another pebble and throwing it at the water.

"What do you mean?" Celeste asked, handing the Fennekin back to me. I sighed and shook my head, looking into the eyes of the lantern.

"Long story short, Unova worships Reshiram and Zekrom, and will do anything their trainers tell them. Team Plasma was the army used by a man named N, who had control of Zekrom. The only thing standing in our way was Reshiram, her trainer Carina, and the gym leaders who served them. When Carina beat N, Team Plasma scattered. I wanted to go back to my apartment in Castelia, and I wanted to take Barret with me so we could figure out our future, only, I couldn't find him. I had to get out because the moment N declared Team Plasma disbanded, police stormed the castle to arrest everyone, and I'm not going to rot in a jail cell because of a lie I believed." I said, gritting my teeth in anger.

"So you evaded capture, where did Barret go? Was he arrested?" Celeste asked. I sighed and rubbed one of the plastic ears on the lantern.

"I thought so. I scoured the internet every day, trying to find any trace of him. I won't lie, if I found out what prison had him I was going to break him out and flee Unova with him." I said sheepishly. Celeste giggled and patted my back comfortingly again.

"I'm not judging, nothing's gonna stand between a woman and her man, that's what my big sister taught me. So did you find him?" Celeste asked. I smirked slightly at her statement, but sighed at the question and hugged the Fennekin again.

"Not for another couple of years. I was asked to rejoin the true Team Plasma by one of the sages who wanted to make things right in Unova, and when I was given the assignment to infiltrate Ghetsis' Team Plasma I ended up in the same unit as him again." I said, feeling tears well up in my eyes.

"What happened? Weren't you happy to see him?" Celeste asked. I hugged the Fennekin tighter and gritted my teeth, refusing to cry again.

"I was, but he wasn't. He was angry and insane, and craved power. He wanted to rule over Unova under Ghetsis and take whatever he wanted whenever he wanted it. I was told that Ghetsis used horrific tactics to ruin the minds of his members, humans and pokemon, so that they'd be loyal only to him. He tortured them, he brutalized them, he broke them until they were nothing more than his loyal, mindless pawns. I reunited with Barret, but he was not mine anymore. The Barret I knew was gone, and in his place was a mindless beast no different from a rabid pokemon." I said quietly. Celeste remained quiet, but put her arm around my shoulders and squeezed my right shoulder gently. We watched Boomer and Sasha fly above the river, chasing each other around and occasionally dipping their wings in the water.

"Where is he now?" Celeste asked after a long silence.

"Mount Victory Rehabilitation Center and Asylum. Vixen got her dad to pull some strings to get him committed there since they have the highest psychiatric recovery rate in Unova." I said sadly.

"Well that's good, he's being treated and maybe he'll be his old self one day." Celeste suggested. I shook my head and looked at the Fennekin lantern sadly.

"No, he won't. Honestly, I think he's beyond help, and it's cruel to him to even try. Vixen's heart was in the right place, but the kindest thing anyone could do for him at this point is put him out of his misery." I said, tears threatening to fall again. I was suddenly thrown into the ground, and Celeste was standing over me, looking incredibly angry. The right side of my face stung, and if I hadn't touched it I would have thought it was bleeding.

"You don't know." Celeste said quietly.

"Wh-what?" I asked, confused and afraid at this attitude.

"You don't know he's beyond help. Maybe getting this help isn't fun, but you love this guy, don't you?" Celeste asked.

"I, I don't..." I sputtered, looking past her at Sasha and Boomer who were staring at us, just as confused as I was.

"Don't look at them, look at me!" Celeste said, kneeling down and grabbing my face suddenly. She forced me to look at her in the eyes, and I saw angry defiance in them. It was the same look I had seen Vixen have when she confronted Ghetsis.

"Of course I do." I told her. Celeste's eyes softened and she let my face go, resting her hands on my shoulders.

"What if it was reversed? What if you were the batshit crazy psycho? Wouldn't you want to do anything to get back to him? Isn't he worth the pain and anger and confusion? Of course he is, you told me you were going to break him out of prison and be a fugitive with him. Don't you think he'd be willing to go through all of this to be with you again?" She asked. I sighed and looked down for a moment, but Celeste's hand cupped my chin and forced me to look up at her.

"But, what if he's not in there anymore? I spent several months with him, trying to find any sign of the same guy who gave me this lantern. What can rehab do for him that I couldn't?" I asked. Celeste smiled and pulled me in to a hug.

"You'd be surprised. If he is in there, they'll find him. They'll make him Barret again. Don't give up on that, alright? You and me, we're gonna get through this, and we're gonna do it together, right?" She asked. I chuckled as I wrapped my arms around her, hugging her back.

"Right. Celeste?" I said, pulling away.

"Hm?" She asked, tilting her head at me. She stared at me so innocently, and given the conversation we just had, I didn't feel right asking her about my theory. She still believed that she did something to make her old pokemon value contests above all else. She believed that if she could figure out what, she could make it up to them, and they'd forgive her.

"Nothing, so, wanna get going? I'll tell you about that crowd of angry rich people who chased me into Drasna." I said. Celeste narrowed her eyes suspiciously at me, but decided to let it go as she stood up, dusting her pants off while I packed up my lantern and stood up.

"Let's go guys! So, did they throw anything at you?" She asked, skipping onto the path and walking back to the palace.

"They threw some wine at us, but it was a white wine. What kind of high-class society goes for white wine? I thought red was the drink of choice." I said as I chased after her. Celeste laughed and started to tell me about etiquette and what type of drinks are appropriate for different occasions. Listening to her prattle on about the high life was comforting in a way. It took my mind off of my past in Team Plasma, and it got her talking about something other than her former pokemon. She was so enthralled with sharing her world with me, she didn't even notice that we were passing through the glade again. It had been too long since I had seen her look genuinely happy about something. I was also surprised by how hopeful she was. She barely knew anything about me and my past relationships, but she still had more hope for me and my romantic future than I did.

If only I could instill that same hope for her.

* * *

TBC

I'm doing it again. I'm just minding my own business, trying to write a story about friendship and adventure, and then suddenly there's romance. Gaaaaaaah!

Well, I'd be lying if I said this came completely out of the blue. Aldith was destined to be the main focus the moment I introduced her in Lola. I liked the character in the anime, and I did have a partial canon for her in the world of Lola. Barret in the anime, wasn't too much different, though he wasn't as much of a badass. I mean, he did command respect from the rest of them in the anime but he was still subservient to Aldith and she had more screentime, so he didn't make as big of an impression. However, I did still ship them in the anime, which I teased in Lola, but back then I didn't think it would go beyond that tidbit of acknowledgement.

But then I realized it would give her and Celeste something to connect on. Given how Celeste is about the show, of course she'd be an avid lover of romance (like a certain authoress was in her younger years, *cough*) and I figured having the romance here would be healthy for Celeste so she could have hope in something, and at some point let that hope go into herself. That, and after rewatching the only part of the Unova Saga that was actually worth watching, I feel like I was kinda unfair to Barret in Lola and in LDR. He didn't even get a mention in LDR until now I don't think.

The Battle Chateau was a messy arc. You have no idea how many ideas ran through my head. We almost met mama Grimsley and Celeste's old pokemon here. I have a better idea regarding the confrontation with the divas, but I'm still on the fence about meeting Grimsley's ma. Maybe it'll happen, maybe it won't.

Anyway, enough dawdling. It's time for some changes in the teams. New attacks, some evolutions, we chase down a Furfrou and get the heck out of here and onto plot stuff. Who is excited for our first Team Flare encounter?

30 is coming up!


	31. Chapter 30: Patience and Progress

"Fire Spin!"

"Fairy Wind!"

The two attacks collided, appearing to be evenly matched even though Sabrina should have had the advantage. Evolution had given Fay an incredible boost in power, even though she was still a mostly defensive pokemon. She twirled her flower as quickly as she could, her new pigtails bobbing up and down in the backwind, as her attack held the Fire Spin at bay. Sabrina's tail lashed as she growled, clearly annoyed with the match up, before stepping back. She pushed harder against the Fairy Wind before stopping her attack, drawing a circle in the air with her wand that created a light blue disk. The Fairy Wind slammed against the disk, billowing out except for a small stream of sparkles that penetrated through the middle and nicked Sabrina's left cheek.

"Alright Fay, that's enough. Any longer and you'll start sweating." Celeste said. The Floette stopped her attack, pulling her flower back and holding it over herself like a parasol. I smiled as Sabrina twirled her wand one last time before returning it to her tail, crossing her arms and grinning at me.

"Won't be long now, I don't think. Sabrina will be a Delphox in no time if that Light Screen is any indication." I said, gently stroking one of Sabrina's ear tufts. Celeste giggled as she reached out to Fay, pulling her pokemon close and nuzzling her.

"Yeah! And maybe Fay here will evolve again soon! What does she look like when she's fully evolved?!" Celeste asked excitedly. I chuckled as I grabbed my pokedex, looking for the entry on Florges.

"Well, I can show you, but I don't think you're gonna get a Florges anytime soon. You need one of the evolutionary stones to evolve Floette." I said, making Celeste pout.

"Aww, really? But that takes all the fun out of it! Evolution is only exciting when it catches you by surprise! Like Fay's evolution in the middle of that battle. Having control over WHEN your pokemon evolves just sounds selfish on the humans part." She complained.

"_Florges, the Garden Pokemon, and the final evolution of Flabébé. Florges' gain power when they are near vibrant flowers, and create beautiful gardens that they claim as their territory. Nobles in ancient Kalos sought out Florges because of this ability so that their households looked better._" The pokedex said, making Celeste groan.

"Aww, that's so awesome! Dammit I need to buy a stone, what kind of stone? Leaf?" She asked. I pulled my pokedex back and scrolled through the extra data on Florges, wincing at the part explaining how to obtain it.

"You're not gonna like this, it's a Shiny Stone." I said, bracing myself for her reaction.

"Aww really?! Of course, a pokemon liked by royalty WOULD need one of the most expensive, hard to find evolutionary stones to evolve. Evolution stones in general are not all that common either...Fay be honest, do you wanna be a Florges?" She asked her pokemon, pulling the Floette away to look at her. Fay smiled and nodded, giving her flower another twirl before pulling herself out of Celeste's grip, floating over to sit on her shoulder. Celeste sighed in defeat, nodding to herself while mumbling about how hard it was going to be to find a store that carried them.

"Well, remember that girl who gave us fossils? She said we could get them looked at in Ambrette town. This is a stretch, but places that deal with mining fossils tend to have a cache of evolutionary stones they find while they are looking. Maybe this place will have one." I suggested. Celeste looked up at me and beamed suddenly, reaching into her bag and pulling out the purplish rock.

"Yeah! Maybe I can trade this to them for one! Honestly all the fossil pokemon I've seen are kinda, bulky and not at all graceful. Maybe an Archen or an Aerodactyl, but if Fay wants to be a beautiful Florges, I'd rather have a pretty flower than a rock." She said, making me sigh in exasperation.

"I can see your showpony, Celeste.' I teased, making her snort.

"So I like pokemon based on their looks. Who doesn't? You can't tell me you didn't prefer Fennekin because it's cuter than the other Kalos starters and it stays that way through it's evolutions." She said, making me blink.

"When have I ever said I prefer Fennekin? My original intent was to let Shauna pick her pokemon first since the starters were for her, and I'd pick one of the two she didn't." I said, crossing my arms. Celeste grinned at me as her eyes traveled up and down my body.

"So, you're telling me that if you were given the first pick of the starters and Sabrina didn't choose you, you were gonna take the Froakie or the Chespin?" She asked.

"Well, I..." I started, uncertain of what to say. To be honest, Fennekin was my first choice, and it is one of my favorite pokemon.

"Aldith, you look like a Delphox with a bad haircut and you carry around a toy Fennekin your boyfriend gave to you on your birthday in Unova. If you don't think the Fennekin line is cuter, why the obsession?" She asked.

"Well, admittedly yes, I do think that Fennekin and its evolutions are cuter than Froakie's or Chespin's, but honestly what I like about them is how clever they are. A well-trained Delphox can do incredible, unbelievable things with their powers that is borderline magic. I admire that the line can go beyond what they are with a little work and perseverance." I explained. Celeste and Sabrina stared at me like I had said something profound, and Celeste looked back at her fossil and frowned at it, hugging it like she had hurt it.

"I, honestly never thought about it like that. I always thought that people picked their pokemon based on how they looked, and that the deeper friendship came after. Aldith...is that what I did wrong?" She asked, sitting down and cradling her fossil. Fay trilled sadly and floated off of Celeste's shoulder, pulling out her ponytail and fussing with her hair. I sighed and walked over to sit next to her while Sabrina sat down, pulling out her wand and staring into the flame.

"You tell me. What did you like about them? Why does their rejection hurt you so much? Are you just upset that a bunch of beautiful pokemon turned their noses up at you and made you feel ugly as a result?" I asked. Celeste took a sharp breath, refusing to answer me, though she shook her head to pull her hair away from Fay. The Floette looked irritated for a moment, floating away from her with a huff.

"I...I loved them. I liked being able to dress them up and coming up with ways they can use their attacks to make them look good, but I did it because I wanted them to feel as beautiful as I saw them." She said. I opened my mouth to say something, but I felt something prickle into my mind. I closed my eyes and focused, ready for the next bit of advice from the mysterious voice.

'_Don't._' Was all it said, but there was something off about it. This was not the deep, wise voice that I was accustomed to. It was lighter, softer, almost feminine. I was confused at first, wondering briefly if I was hearing Celeste's guide, but when I opened my eyes I saw Sabrina's eyes focused on mine, the flame on her wand brighter than it normally was before the brightness fade away. I blinked and tilted my head at her, and she grinned, bringing her wand back in front of her and returning to her meditation. I was astounded by how far her telepathy had come, and I wanted to call her out on it, but movement in the corner of my eye drew my attention away.

Fay was floating in front of Celeste, looking at her sadly while Celeste looked like she wasn't paying attention. I saw the small fingers clench the stem of her flower, almost too tightly, and she bit her lower lip. Fay winced at something, though I couldn't see anything offhand, and she started looking around. She released her flower then, letting it fall on top of Celeste's fossil, as she fell to the ground. Celeste gasped, watching in horror as Fay landed in the dirt, and she used her hands to pull herself to one of the hedges, burying herself in the mud at the base of one. She started to bathe in the mud, leaving no part of herself untouched, and when she felt she had gotten thoroughly dirty, she pulled herself back over to Celeste. After struggling into a sitting position, she crossed her arms and looked at Celeste pointedly, as if daring her to do something. I couldn't help but laugh then as I clapped Celeste's shoulder.

"Does that look like a pokemon who thinks looking good is the most important thing in the world?" I asked. Celeste was speechless as she looked at Fay's flower, picking it up carefully and dropping it back on the fossil when Fay chirped angrily at her.

"But...I don't understand..." Celeste said. I sighed and patted her back softly.

"Fay chose to be your pokemon because you both love looking good, right? Well, she just crawled through a bed of dust to roll around in some mud just to prove to you that some things are more important than looking nice. You are more important to her than her looks are. Do you feel the same?" I asked. Celeste continued to stare at Fay in shock, but then her eyes softened and she smiled, moving her fossil off of her lap, careful not to dislodge the flower, and reached out to Fay. She was hesitant at first, somewhat off-put by the mud, but with a deep breath she scooped Fay up in her hands carefully, holding her in front of her face.

"Yeah...Thanks Fay, thanks so much." She said, leaning forward to touch her forehead to Fay's. She trilled softly in approval as she returned the affectionate headbutt, and when they pulled away, they smiled at each other before simultaneously grimacing.

"Ette." Fay grumbled, looking at herself as mud dripped off her body.

"Let's go get cleaned up." Celeste said, standing up as Fay trilled in agreement. She held Fay away from her body as she reached down to grab Fay's flower, but she yelped when Fay pinched her.

"That flower is a crucial part of her, like Sabrina's wand is. Damaging the flower could hurt Fay really badly until she evolves and the flower becomes a literal part of her. I'll look after it while you two deal with your fashion emergency." I said, pulling the fossil over to me. Celeste and Fay looked at me gratefully, and my friend jogged away with her pokemon back into the palace while I stared at Celeste's fossil.

'_Good job._' Said the feminine voice. I snapped to attention and looked at Sabrina, seeing her focusing on me again while the flame on her wand was once again bright.

"Is that really you talking to me Sabrina?" I asked wryly. She smiled at me, not moving.

'_Yes. Kinda hard._' She said, her eyes wincing slightly when she spoke.

"I imagine it is, considering you aren't a Psychic-type yet. Don't push it too hard, you'll get there. So, you knew what Fay was going to do?" I asked. Sabrina nodded at me this time and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before opening them again.

'_She cares. They worry._' Sabrina said, her ears drooping a little. I tilted my head at her as I adjusted myself.

"They worry? Who is, her pokemon?" I asked. Sabrina nodded again.

'_She hurts._' Sabrina said, this time whining. I sighed and scooted over to sit next to her, careful not to hurt Fay's flower.

"I know. I want to help her so much, but she's so stubborn about it. I'm running out of things to tell her." I said, reaching up to stroke Sabrina's back.

'_Friendship heals. Time too._' Sabrina said. I smirked at her words, looking at the fossil and the flower that rested on it.

"I know, but as her friend, I want her to feel better now." I said, running my thumb over the smooth rock.

'_We need patience._' Sabrina said. She pulled her wand back in front of her and started to stare into the flame once again. This told me she was done talking for now, but oddly enough, I didn't need her to anymore. Though her words were short and limited, it was what I needed to hear. I was putting too much pressure on Celeste to get over this. I can't force her to any more than Sabrina can force her powers to do what she wants. She and I both need to be patient, as hard as it was.

Sabrina's ears twitched, and she started looking around in alarm. I blinked at her as she jumped up, standing over me protectively while holding her wand in an attacking stance. I leaned back and pulled Celeste's stuff closer, trying to figure out what had gotten my pokemon so upset, when I saw some hedges behind me move. I pulled myself between Sabrina's legs and stood up, trying not to drop Fay's flower.

"Behind us! Psybeam!" I cried. Sabrina whirled in the direction I told her and thrusted her wand forward, sending a multi-colored beam of light at the hedges. A large white pokemon jumped out and over the Psybeam, making a beeline right for us. With a growl, Sabrina spun her wand, creating a Light Screen. The pokemon slammed into the shield, and as it started to shatter, Sabrina and I jumped away. The pokemon growled at us, but didn't do anything but keep running as it broke the Light Screen and continued running.

"Braixen?" Sabrina asked as she relaxed, though she kept her wand out just in case.

"Beats me, that was one crazy Furfrou." I said. The hedges began to move again, and we braced for another encounter. To my relief, it was only a maid pushing through the hedges that Furfrou had come out of. She panted hard and bent over, her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath.

"Master, Pufferpoof, come, come back." She said as she heaved. Sabrina and I looked at each other incredulously, wincing simultaneously, before we carefully approached the maid.

"Um, are you looking for a full-coat Furfrou?" I asked. The maid gasped and looked up at me and Sabrina fearfully, though she relaxed after a few seconds.

"Oh, you're one of those girls who saved Count Parfum. I, actually yes I am. Pufferpoof is the Count's prized Furfrou, descended from a line of Furfrou who once stood by the king of Kalos! I am supposed to be giving him his daily bath and trim, and he ran off!" She said, sounding distressed and betrayed. Sabrina and I looked at each other again, and Sabrina's wand flame got bright.

'_Help him?_' Sabrina asked. I winked at her as I turned to the maid.

"I'll make a deal with you, I'll go look for Furfrou-"

"Pufferpoof"

"Pufferpoof, right. If you take this to my friend inside the palace without touching the flower, we'll go find Pufferpoof and get him under control for you." I said, wincing slightly at the interruption. The maid looked at the fossil in my hands, looking back up at me hopefully.

"That's it? Take this stone to the other girl without touching the flower?" She asked. I nodded and held the fossil out to her.

"Yes, the flower is a Fairy Flower that belongs to her Floette. They got a bit dirty while we were training so they went inside to clean up, but they left the flower with us so it wouldn't get hurt. Surely you can handle this and reunite the pokemon with it's most attractive feature, right?" I asked. The maid nodded furiously at me as she gingerly took the fossil from me, cradling it on her uniform like it was a baby while the flower rested on her chest.

"Of course! I handle the Count's tea and have to carry a very full cup all over the palace every few hours! I believe I know where your friend is as well! Oh, thank you so much!" She said, hurrying away. True to her word, rather than cutting through the hedges, the maid walked gracefully on the path like she knew where she was going. When she was out of sight, I looked in the direction that Furfrou ran and sighed, making my way over.

'_What now?_' Sabrina asked.

"Um, working on it. I don't blame him for running but I can't just steal him and set him free." I said, pushing through the hedges. Sabrina said nothing as she trotted in front of me, sniffing the air while her ears flailed around, trying her best to help me find Furfrou. She made small sounds that were a cross between a growl and a whimper, like she was irritated, and I wanted to help her. I plucked Boomer's pokeball off my belt and threw it up, the Noibat appearing in front of us.

"Noi?" Boomer asked, tilting his head.

"We're trying to find a Furfrou, mind helping us out?" I asked. Boomer nodded and flapped his wings harder, flying away from us to look. Sabrina smiled at me gratefully, holding her wand out to me.

'_Idea._' She said, returning her wand to her tail. I tilted my head at her as she pointed her nose to the air, holding her paws up by the sides of her mouth.

"Braixen! Braaaaaixen!" She called. Calling for him by his name? I didn't know how effective that would be, but I suppose it didn't hurt to try.

"Pufferpoof!" I called. I hissed in pain and reached down to rub my leg, glaring at Sabrina. She looked at me annoyed and retracted her claws, pointing at herself with her paws.

"Braixen, Braixen." She said, chastising me. My eyes widened in understanding, and I mouthed a silent 'oh' at her as I realized what she was trying to do. I straightened myself out and cleared my throat to try again.

"Sorry! Please come out, Furfrou! We wanna help!" I asked. I looked down at Sabrina to see if this was what she had in mind, and she nodded at me approvingly, turning back to continue her efforts.

"Braixen! Braixen!" She called. The two of us wandered around the hedge maze, calling out for the poor Furfrou.

It seemed like we were searching forever, though in reality it was only about ten minutes. I coughed slightly as I called for Furfrou weakly, my voice going hoarse from all the yelling. Sabrina whined and her ears drooped, clearly feeling as fatigued as I was. I really did want to help Furfrou out, but given the way the maid talked about him, he probably didn't trust humans at all.

"Aldith! What's going on?!" Celeste called out. Sabrina and I stopped as Celeste jogged up to us, a very clean Fay sitting on her shoulder with her flower held tight.

"The maid didn't tell you?" I asked, tilting my head. Celeste panted slightly from the exertion, but otherwise she looked somewhat relaxed.

"All that hysterical banshee would tell me is that I had to help you in the hedge maze. Why are you looking for a Furfrou?" She asked. I rolled my eyes as I mentally scolded the maid, and I crossed my arms.

"I could actually use your help with this. What do you do about a pampered pokemon who doesn't want to be pampered?" I asked. Celeste grinned, and she started shaking her head, giggling quietly.

"Oh boy, this again? Oh I can't tell you how many times I came across this in my career. Let me guess, stupid name? Stuffy haircut? A diet with a budget that could feed an entire town for a week?" She asked.

"Well, all Furfrou trims look kinda stuffy and given what we know of the Count, I don't doubt he eats better than Vixen." I said. Celeste raised a brow at me and crossed her own arms.

"And the name? Come on, I've heard some real doozies. There's no way this guy can beat Fanny the Snubble." She said, and I had to admit, that was kinda funny.

"Pufferpoof." I said. Celeste's face fell and her jaw dropped open.

"Fanny you've been replaced. Please tell me you didn't offer to bring the poor thing back." Celeste said. I winced and nodded at her, grabbing my hands behind my back.

"Kinda..." I said. Celeste walked up to me and flicked my forehead, clicking her tongue in disapproval.

"Bad girl, the easiest solution here is smuggling the pokemon out and getting it to a pokemon center so it can learn to fend for itself. Unfortunately, you went and sold us as miracle workers, and now I gotta go through the old 'stop smothering your pokemon it isn't a toy' speech again." She said with a sigh.

"What do you mean? You've worked with this before right? Haven't you tried to set the trainers straight?" I asked.

"Nope. I tried to make the owners into trainers. This Furfrou is not a pokemon to these people. He is a toy, a dress up doll that moves and makes noise. I have tried over and over but I cannot convince these people to think differently." She said, rubbing her temples. I frowned at her as Boomer came back, looking excited.

"Well, you can't, but maybe WE can. Boomer, show us where he is!" I said, turning to run as my Noibat whirled in the air.

"Wait, Aldith! What are you thinking!?" Celeste asked, but I didn't pay much attention to her. The three of us ran after him, and soon we came to a clearing. Zekrom stood tall and proud on a huge podium, if not for the glimmering sunlight, I would have thought it was the real Zekrom and not a statue made of the same stone as the podium it stood on. At the base of the podium, standing against it, Furfrou stared up at the statue, his tail wagging slowly. I took a step forward, and Furfrou snapped out of his trance, looking at me with disdain.

"Hey Furfrou. Sorry for, calling you that awful, awful name they stuck you with. We really wanna help you if you'll let us, we could make life better for you." I said. Furfrou growled and pulled his lips back, baring sharp, shiny teeth at me.

"What my friend means is that we're gonna try to convince your humans that you are not a Pufferpoof, you are a strong pokemon with a powerful lineage and you need a chance to prove it." Celeste said. He didn't look entirely convinced, but he did close his lips, so he was humoring us. Celeste turned and looked at me expectantly, curious about what I had in mind. I walked closer to Furfrou and reached a hand out to him.

"I've got an idea, and if it works, you're going to get out of here, but if it doesn't, you'll get treated with dignity and respect. At the very least, I can get them to stop calling you that vomit-inducing name. All you have to do is trust us, deal?" I asked. Furfrou narrowed his eyes, suspicious of me and what I was trying to do. I understood that look, I wore it many times myself during the fight against Neo Team Plasma. I tried to return the look with a look of my own that promised him I would do anything to help him. Furfrou looked up at the Zekrom statue again and backed away from it, turning to me. He nodded, satisfied with my words and my promising gaze. I smiled as he pushed his head into my hand, and I gripped his soft, coarse fur, standing up and looking at Celeste as we started back for the palace.

"What are you up to?" Celeste asked, narrowing her eyes. I just grinned at her as Sabrina walked next to Furfrou, having a quiet conversation with him.

"You'll see. You're an important part of it, just get your dex ready." I said with a wink.

When we made it out of the hedge maze, the statue of Reshiram looming behind us elegantly, the maid was waiting. Upon seeing Furfrou, she squealed in delight, making Furfrou tense up. He braced himself to run, but was surprised when Sabrina and I stood protectively in front of him. The maid looked at us in confusion as she skidded to a stop, and I could feel Celeste's eyes boring into the back of my head.

"Miss?" The maid asked, stretching to look past me at Furfrou. Furfrou yelped and recoiled behind me, and I spread my feet out.

"Get the Count out here, now. We've got a bone to pick with him, and this Furfrou is staying with me until I speak to him." I said sternly, crossing my arms. The maid looked at me fearfully, but understood she wasn't going to get anywhere with me herself, and fled to do as I asked.

"This got interesting, we're holding a pokemon hostage. We gonna ransom him back to the Count?" Celeste asked with a giggle. I chuckled as I turned around to Furfrou, kneeling down to be at eye level with him.

"Something like that, so buddy, how would you like to have a battle with me?" I asked. Furfrou's eyes widened and his tail lashed back and forth.

"Furfrou!" He barked, the tone very deep and masculine.

"Good Arceus above...when they give you a trim, what does your tail look like after?" I asked. Furfrou grimaced suddenly and looked at the ground, scratching at it. Celeste came closer and leaned down as Furfrou drew in the dirt.

"He can draw! Cool!" Celeste quipped, not as disturbed by the image as I was. I frowned at seeing the heart in the ground, and I reached out and grabbed Furfrou, pulling him in and hugging him tightly.

"No wonder you wanna run away, buddy, this is gonna stop, even if my Braixen has to hold him at Wand-point while you make a break for it out the gate." I said. Celeste scoffed, and I looked at her disapproving gaze as I pulled away from Furfrou.

"That's your plan? When you fail at talking to the Count, you're gonna threaten him to let Furfrou go? Even if you succeeded and we all got away, how will you stop him from buying another pokemon to do the same thing to? Do you know what the odds of the pokemon he'd get actually liking this crap?" Celeste asked. I sighed and stood up, briefly looking at Count Parfum as he walked briskly towards us.

"If all goes well, no one will need to escape, no one will get hurt, and the pokemon who live here will actually like it. Remind me to show you the Heart Trim later but right now, it's showtime. Try to keep up, and get ready for a fight. Furfrou, do whatever she says and you'll win." I said, pushing him over to Celeste. Celeste squawked as Furfrou pushed her back, and Sabrina and I backtracked away from them.

"What is the meaning of this?! Why are you keeping my poor little Pufferpoof prisoner?" Count Parfume demanded. I glared at him as I grabbed a pokeball, throwing it up. Nylass appeared in front of me, her tail wagging excitedly as the tuft on her tail and head swirled with heat.

"I'm not keeping him prisoner, you are. This Furfrou is descended from the Furfrou who served the Royal Family of Kalos, right?" I asked. I glanced at Celeste, watching her study her pokedex intently.

"Well, of course! I paid good money for a pokemon with a good pedigree, and no one has a more esteemed lineage than Pufferpoof!" The Count said. My eye twitched and I rounded on him. He recoiled slightly at the fury I displayed, and I couldn't help but feel a little satisfied.

'_Don't let it go to your head. Righteous fury is noble, but it is powerful. Letting it consume you will take you down a path you have walked before, that you yourself refuse to return to._' The voice said firmly. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly and relaxing.

"First of all, that stops now. He is not a Pufferpoof, he is a Furfrou. If you can't give him a dignified name, then don't name him at all. Second, you say he is descended from pokemon who served the Royal Family, but you don't know what what means. I know you don't, because anyone who did would know better than put disgrace a son of the Royal Guard by cutting his fur into little hearts and dying it bright pink!" I said. Count Parfum stared at me like a Deerling caught in headlights, and I sighed.

"Aldith, trust me, talking isn't going to do you any good. We're seeing this to the end, so if you aren't going to command Nylass, we're going first. Furfrou, use Headbutt!" Celeste cried.

"Wait, don't!" Count Parfum said, running to stop the attack. Sabrina stepped in front of the Count and held her wand out, glaring at him. The flame on her wand got brighter, and the Count gasped, backing away slowly.

"Fire Fang!" I commanded, confident that Sabrina would keep the Count at bay. Nylass growled and ran up to meet Furfrou, her mouth drenched in flames. She leapt up and bit down on the top of his head, but as I hoped, Furfrou simply reared and dislodged her, throwing my Litleo back.

"Now bite her!" Celeste cried. Furfrou immediately executed the attack, pouncing on Nylass and biting at her tail. My pokemon screamed in pain, flipping over and kicking at Furfrou. Furfrou growled and held on tight, and even though I wanted to help Nylass win, I wanted to help Furfrou more right now. He needed it more than she did.

"Hang in there, Nylass! Noble Roar!" I commanded. Nylass growled and snarled at Furfrou, the shock-wave knocking him away. She stood up and shook the dust off of herself, puffing up and watching Furfrou with determination.

"Furfrou, Tail-whip! You can come back from this!" Celeste cried. Furfrou growled as he charged at Nylass, spinning around and sweeping her into the air with his tail.

"Nylass, Headbutt!" I commanded. Nylass spun around in the air and used the force of her fall to come down onto Furfrou, and I briefly wondered how well his ability would protect him from this.

"Use Sucker-Punch!" Celeste commanded. Woah, what?

"Fuuuuuuur!" He snarled, rearing up on his hind legs. His right paw grew dark as he threw it up in an uppercut, slamming it into Nylass' jaw and throwing her away. She landed on the dusty ground roughly and rolled over to me, only coming to a stop when she rested against my feet. I looked down and saw her eyes squinting in pain, and I smiled apologetically at her. She was done.

"Sorry about this, Nylass. I owe you big time." I said as I recalled her. I put her pokeball on my belt and looked up to see Furfrou standing up with his paws on Celeste, his tail wagging wildly while he licked her face. I felt warm watching him celebrate his victory in what was likely his first real battle ever. He looked genuinely happy, and that was worth all the cuddles and treats I owed Nylass later.

"Why, that was incredible! You're a seasoned trainer, and yet Pufferpoof completely dominated your pokemon in brutal combat!" The Count said in disbelief. I sighed and shook my head, turning to him in disappointment.

"Didn't you learn anything? First of all, it's not 'brutal combat', it's a battle. That prancing around you and those other rich people indulge in at the Battle Chateau is not battling. That last move he used? That's a powerful attack that most pokemon can't use until they are on-par with the Elite Four's pokemon. FURFROU is descended from a line of pokemon who were bred to do one thing; protect the Royal Family no matter what. Don't you understand any of that?" I asked. Count Parfum looked at me, his eyes unreadable, as he turned to Furfrou. The pokemon looked at him with pleading eyes, silently begging him to listen to me. The Count sighed and looked at the ground, and I could feel shame radiating from him.

"I...suppose I never really considered how...practical the Royal Family was. Pu-Furfrou, please forgive me. I shamed your lineage." He said quietly. Furfrou tilted his head and padded over to the Count, sitting at his feet and wagging his tail.

"Fur!" He barked, smiling at the man. Count Parfum smiled back at him and reached out to pat his head.

"No more Pufferpoof? Or Heart-Trim?" I asked. The man nodded and looked up at me, holding a hand out to me.

"Yes, I understand now what a mockery that is. Why, I can't imagine the anger I'd feel if someone shamed my family this way. I've learned quite a lot today." He said. I smiled at him as I pulled out the tablet from my bag, tapping around on it.

"I want to see that you understand that, take a look at this page and tell me what you think." I said, passing the tablet over to him. Count Parfum hummed in curiosity as he looked at the screen, his eyes becoming excited.

"Why, these are exquisite! Darling Furfrou, do you like any of these?" He asked, showing the screen to the pokemon. Furfrou blinked at the image on the screen, his eyes scanning all all of the different-colored Furfrou's. I started to frown, disappointed that Count Parfum completely missed my point, but then Furfrou started wagging his tail and he touched his nose to the tablet. The image of the Pharaoh-Trimmed Furfrou got bigger, and when Count Parfum took a look, he smiled and cawed in joy.

"Wha?" I mouthed as he showed the image to his made.

"Yes! A royal-cut for a royal pokemon! I love it! And so does he, er, you do love it, right, Furfrou?" He said, looking uncertainly at his pokemon.

"Fur!" Furfrou barked, nodding furiously and wagging his tail.

"Very well then! See to it that he looks as respectable as the pokemon in this image! Pharaoh-Trim it is!" He said, passing the tablet back to me.

"Yes sir, come along, Master Pufferpoof." The maid said sweetly. Furfrou growled as he stood up, his hackles raised.

"No no no! No more of that! Don't you realize what sort of pokemon this is?! Why, he should be captain of the Royal Guard! In fact, that has a nice ring to it. Yes, see to it that Captain here shows his lineage, and tell all of the staff that they are to show him the same respect they'd show me!" He said excitedly. Furfrou suddenly calmed down and his tail wagged wildly, obviously liking the change, and as the maid bowed respectfully at the Count, he puffed out his chest proudly. The maid bowed to him and reached out to grab him, but he jumped away and started marching towards the palace, intending to lead the maid there. She followed him at a respectable distance, and with one final look to me, Captain barked at me and continued to march away, feeling the pride he deserved.

"Thank you. I'm sorry for meddling but, well, he was miserable, sir." I said, not feeling too sorry. Count Parfum sighed and shook his head, looking at me apologetically.

"If anyone needs to apologize, it is me. I didn't understand why he didn't like me. I gave him servants and gave him a look that was popular among Furfrou-trainers in town. He has his own private doctor and a private chef who cooks with only the finest ingredients, but this is the first time he ever actually smiled at me, and I don't think I have ever seen him so proud. I give you my thanks, you've not only protected my life, you've given me a new lease on it." He said, smiling warmly.

"What will you do now?" Celeste asked. Count Parfum thought over the question, nodding to himself as he started making his way back to the palace.

"I think the pokemon should fit the name. After his bath, I'll begin training Captain for the Guard. He's got a lot of work ahead of him if he is going to be a part of it, especially if he ends up leading it." He said, raising a hand up.

"That's great! I'm so happy for him! You need to know a couple of things first!" I called after him. Count Parfum stopped, turning around to look at us curiously.

"Oh?" He asked.

"Yeah! His attacks are Headbutt, Bite, Tail-Whip and Sucker-Punch. Sucker-Punch only works when it is a counter to an attacking opponent." Celeste said.

"And his ability is Fur-Coat, which makes physical attacks against him half as strong. He can take a punch, but he'll have trouble against special attacks like Hyper Beam." I added. Count Parfum nodded and he pulled a small pad and a pen out of his pocket, writing stuff down on it.

"Duly noted, thank you. I shall see you tomorrow evening, girls." He said, walking away. Celeste and I looked at each other, and I grinned smugly at her, crossing my arms while holding onto the tablet.

"You got lucky." She said pointedly.

"Luck had nothing to do with that. Admit it, you never tried battling the stuffed animals to shock some sense into the trainers." I said. Celeste put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at me, though I could tell she wasn't angry.

"Of course I tried, I just never thought of kidnapping the pokemon. I didn't exactly have a partner in crime to command the poor things, and pansies don't make good commanders. You've got more balls than all the guys I met on the stage." She said, making me snort in laughter.

"Did you forget I'm technically a criminal? I don't play nice when I'm mad, and I initially learned these skills for the sake of protecting pokemon. How did you like handling Captain?" I asked. Celeste snickered as she strode over to me, putting her arm on my shoulder.

"He was awesome! I was actually surprised he had Sucker Punch. Most pokemon who are smothered like that are lucky to know how to do anything but tackle. What got into you though? Are you that proud of your heritage?" She asked. I sighed and held the tablet up.

"Not any more than any other Kalosian, but that was the manliest pokemon I had ever met, and I took orders directly from Zekrom. There are some things you just don't do to a man, and this is one of them." I said, pulling up a larger image of the Heart-Trim Furfrou style. Celeste's eyes got wide as she grabbed the tablet, looking at it in disbelief.

"That's it! I give up! NOTHING can top this. I didn't think it could get worse than Pufferpoof, and then you give me this." She said, shoving the tablet into me as she covered her face with her other hand.

"I didn't feel like pointing this out to the Count, but even I can see how the way you dress reflects how well off you are. The Heart-Trim is the most popular Furfrou style because it is the cheapest style groomers offer." I said. Celeste winced and made a hissing sound, looking in the direction the count had gone.

"And the style he and Captain picked?" She asked. I rolled my eyes at her, taking a step forward and patting her on the back.

"It's dark blue, it's manly, and it's one of the more expensive cuts. I'm just glad that Captain had a say in it." I said. Celeste nodded and sighed, walking back to the hedge maze.

"I am too, but sheesh, I'm glad you talked me into this. This was a high-class no no. Shall we get back to training?" She asked. I looked at Sabrina and smirked, the two of us following after her.

"Yeah, but we're gonna leave Sabrina out of it. She made a breakthrough in her telepathy today, now she's using words." I told her.

"Oh really? What's that like?" Celeste asked. The two of us trekked through the maze while Sabrina followed loyally behind us, talking to Fay.

I'm glad we helped Captain. It took knowledge from me and Celeste to make his life better, and it was an example of what we could accomplish together. We succeeded together on a problem Celeste has encountered multiple times without getting anywhere. Maybe it was a minor issue all things considered, but it was still a sign that I could work with Celeste, and that we could do some cool things that made things better when we were together.

I might get through to her yet.

* * *

TBC

You know what I hated the most about the Furfrou quest? You didn't get to help it. We all know why Furfrou ran away and why we needed to chase it. We didn't get to make that Furfrou's life better. That would have been a PERFECT opportunity to give us a free pokemon really, we chase after Furfrou, we bond with it, and the guy who runs Parfum Palace grows on a personal level by doing what's best for his favorite pokemon by letting it go with a trainer. Nope. We get a random Lapras and a Lucario instead because, reasons? I mean Lapras KINDA makes sense because if you didn't pick Froakie/Squirtle or catch an Eevee to evolve into a Vaporeon...or catch a water typed pokemon to battle Grant since a guy forced a fishing rod on you in Ambrette town...What was the point of Lapras again?

Lucario makes less sense because you were given a pokemon that was MEANT to Mega Evolve, that part of the story kinda fell flat because we were supposed to bond with our Kanto Starter and unlock the power of Mega Evolution through our friendship and our belief in each other and the love we felt-OHAI Random Lucario body slamming into me! What's that? You don't care for this super badass gym leader who specializes in training Lucario? You mean you liked me the moment you smacked into me? You say we are destined to be great together and we can prove it by Mega Evolving you to fight Korrina's Mega Lucario that she's likely had for a long time? OKAY! Fuck you Charizard/Venusaur/Blastoise, I got a Lucario now!

Yeah...I like to pretend that part of the story never happened and that I just read it in a bad fanfic. I just defended Gen 6 to Gen 5 in a pokemon video that said Gen 6 lacked soul too...I'm gonna go cry in a corner now.

Anyway, spoiler alert, Celeste and Aldith aren't getting a Lucario. They're not accessing Mega Evolution until Angora and Lavier are an Ampharos and a Charizard and that's final. I didn't get to write the canon, but this is my story dammit! This is where the term "Fix-fic" comes from, even though this is more like a "Fix-arc".

Also, I apologize for making Fay's evolution off-screen. I normally love writing evolutions and describing how the pokemon changes, but aside from the fact that Floette doesn't change much from Flabebe beyond being a bit bigger and holding the flower instead of sitting on it, I decided I wanted to focus more on the relationships between pokemon and, finally, the obligatory Furfrou quest we've all been dreading.

I'll get to work on 31, see ya then. ^^


	32. Chapter 31: One danger, or two?

Things were uneventful for the rest of the day mostly. The highlights of the day were the new attacks our pokemon had learned. In addition to Sabrina learning Light Screen, Boomer picked up Roost while he was imitating Sabrina's meditation. I couldn't have been happier if he had mastered Dragon Pulse, because Roost meant he could stay in the fight longer if we used it right. Fay's evolution into Floette had given her the ability to turn Razor Leaf into Magical Leaf. Sasha had also picked up a new attack, but it was not quite as practical as Roost. However, Celeste was clever, if anyone could make Razor Wind work, it was certainly her. She refused to call out Mitsy, feeling it was unfair to the Espurr to let her out so close to where she used to live. Instead, she got it into her head that Angora should know Iron Tail to help cover some of her weaknesses, and so for the rest of the day, she coached Angora on using Iron Tail. To my surprise, Angora mastered the attack by the time one of the Count's maids came to get us for dinner.

As we enjoyed the large spread of exotic, incredibly expensive food, Celeste explained to me that this was not her first time teaching Iron Tail. She had taught it to her Milotic, Tina, to make her appeals flashier, and fellow coordinators wanted her to teach their pokemon too. All of that practice made it easier for her to teach Iron Tail, but only Iron Tail, and so now it only took a few hours for a pokemon under her tutelage to learn it.

Initially, the Count had arranged two separate bedroom for us, but I worried for Celeste. After everything that had happened throughout the day, she and I just weren't comfortable being too far apart. Thankfully the Count was perfectly understanding, though how much he understood was anyone's guess. His butler wasn't terribly happy to see me and Celeste go into the same bedroom, knowing we were going to share the king-sized bed, but screw him. We let our pokemon out and decided that the rest of the night would be spent enjoying each other's company and relaxing online.

I laid in the bed, propped up by many overstuffed pillows, as I browsed the internet on Celeste's tablet. I was looking up guides on coaching pokemon to learn moves, hoping I could find something that would help Boomer master Dragon Pulse and help Lavier learn Flamethrower. To my surprise, the tablet beeped, and I checked the tab that had my email open. I shot up into a sitting position as I stared at the title, feeling my heart drop.

"Celeste!" I called. My friend poked her head out of the bathroom door, her mouth full of foam while her hand clasped tightly on her toothbrush.

"Fwut?" She asked through the mouthful of toothpaste.

"Shauntal found something about the Reapers, I think you will want to hear this." I said. Celeste froze, staring at me as some of the foam slowly slid down the corner of her mouth. She snapped out of it and slowly retreated back into the bathroom. I set the tablet down on my lap and sighed, feeling more tired than I had ever been. Nylass and Sabrina watched me from their place on the end of the bed, but all of the other pokemon were fast asleep, spread out in the room except for Boomer and Sasha, who hung from the drapes over the bed, and Mitsy who Celeste was going to keep in the ball until we left.

'_New day, better day._' Sabrina said, trying to comfort me. I smiled appreciatively at her as Celeste came out of the bathroom, her Gardevoir-inspired nightgown hanging loosely off her.

"What is it? What did she find out? Hopefully it's something we can tell Grampa." She said, crawling into bed and leaning over my shoulder to look at the tablet. I smiled softly at her as I clicked the message.

"_Greetings, friend of my daughter! I must thank you for giving me such an interesting subject to study! It seems you and your companion have gotten yourselves embroiled in something far more dangerous than Team Plasma, and far older than even the Unova Dragons. I urge you to choose your words carefully as you write your story with the Reapers, lest it turns into a tragedy._

_So far, my research has found that the Reapers believe that death is not ceasing to exist, but rather is a being greater than themselves. They worship it and have come to think of life as being a disease that cannot be cured except by killing the carrier. They claim that their god asked them to wipe out life wherever they see it, and have taken this mission so seriously that they will not rest until they are successful in destroying all life._" I read, furrowing my brow at the message.

"This, isn't anything new though. I mean, the whole 'worshipping Death as a literal god' part is but, we know they want to kill off all life. Keep reading." Celeste said, frowning at the screen. I nodded at her and scrolled down, looking over the rest of the text.

"_It is nearly impossible to find the Reapers, for they are everywhere and can seemingly disappear at will. The only thing that is certain about their whereabouts is that they are always near something they call 'The Sacred Egg', citing that it is important to guard. This is quite curious, why would a cult whose bible preaches indiscriminate slaughter protect something that is a symbol of life?_

_I will need to do some more research, but I hope this helps you understand what sort of story you are in. I urge you to be careful, and if you find out more on your own I would appreciate you sharing it with me. As it is I would not be able to write a good story with the Reapers as my basis, they are too bland and one-dimensional to serve as the main villain._" I finished, frowning at the email.

"So, they're near an egg? But, why WOULD they protect something called the Sacred Egg? Wouldn't they want to destroy something that promises life?" Celeste asked. I hummed and leaned back in the bed, tabbing out of my email.

"That is a good question, but the bigger question is, what and where is this Sacred Egg? I mean, if the Reapers think it's important, it makes sense that their main base would be close to i-." I said, stopping. Celeste tilted her head as she leaned over me, growing more confused at my widening eyes.

"What is it Aldith?" She asked.

"It's not an egg." I said.

"What?" She asked again.

"It's not an egg. Celeste, don't you see? The rash increase of unexplained pokemon deaths, the resurfacing of an ages-old cult, Celeste, the Sacred Egg is the Cocoon of Destruction. They worship Yveltal, who is said to be death and destruction incarnate." I said, making her gasp.

"But, but, that doesn't make sense! Aldith...there is NOTHING unexplained about what happened in that glade, except for why. That news report, the conversation between Diantha and mister Totally-Not-A-Villain Lysandre, they made it sound like pokemon were dying from supernatural means, like they just dropped dead while going about their business." Celeste said, shaking her head quickly.

"But, Celeste this is the only thing that would make sense! While it is true that Yveltal can kill anything without actually doing anything to them, it can only do that while it is awake and active. The only time it can wipe out life as the Cocoon of Destruction is when it is about to wake up and come out of the cocoon." I said. Celeste whimpered as she laid down, reaching over to the nightstand and picking up a pokeball.

"There's just no way though, why would Yveltal create a cult? If it is Death in the form of a pokemon, why does it need help to kill? Why ask humans to do what it can easily do itself?" Celeste asked, turning over the pokeball and frowning at it. I had to admit, she was right. I've read so many stories about how Yveltal wiped out armies of humans and pokemon who stood against it, how it has enough power to wipe out all life on the planet. Why would it ask for help in doing all of that? Unless...

"This is just a theory, but what if Xerneas forced it to?" I asked.

"What? You mean, the pokemon who embodies Life? Listen to yourself, Aldith! Why would a pokemon who is Life itself force Death to spread its gospel?" Celeste asked incredulously.

"Well, I read that Xerneas can grant eternal life when it is awake, and it had a penchant for doing so during one of the times it was awake. Maybe Yveltal felt threatened by this power, and created the Reapers to counter Xerneas? Like, maybe it tried to use the cult to kill Xerneas?" I suggested. Celeste snorted as she set the pokeball back on the nightstand.

"That is probably the stupidest thing I have ever heard, Death killing Life. I don't know, Aldith, can we not think about this anymore? It's been a rough day, I just want to watch TV and go to sleep." Celeste said grumpily. I smiled at her and nodded, reaching over to grab the remote and passing it over.

"Yeah, sorry Celeste. You pick out what to watch, I'm just gonna go back to my research. Boomer and Lavier are going to learn Dragon Pulse and Flamethrower if it's the last thing I do." I said. Celeste chuckled as she flicked the TV on, surfing the channels while I continued to surf the web. I had to admit, my theory sounded flawed even to me, but there were parts that could not be explained otherwise. It was scary to think that if I was right, and the Reapers do serve Yveltal, then Kalos was in more danger than we all thought. Not only would we have to worry about the embodiment of death and destruction waking up, but now it seemed to have an army.

Ugh, Celeste was right, thinking about this too hard isn't going to do us any good. My theory is only a theory right now, and getting worked up about it when we didn't have any concrete evidence wasn't going to help us. Connected to Yveltal or not, the Reapers need to be stopped, and that's all there is to it. For right now, my biggest concern should be helping my pokemon get stronger, and helping my friend get through this tough time.

Everything else can wait.

* * *

TBC

...shit. I, just realized I have some continuity issues. Remember how Aldith said she and Barret were both in the original Team Plasma and she had a crush on him before they got separated?

I was re-reading the chapter in Lola where Vixen meets Aldith...and totally forgot I originally wrote that Barret was in Neo Team Plasma because he was kidnapped from the S.S. Thundurus and brainwashed into it...oops. I have an idea on how to fix this, and I think I can link the two together so that they are both tr-oh yeah I can fix this. An epiphany was had, and I can totally fix this. I don't even need to bother telling you guys. So why am I? Well I wrote this author's note the second I caught the mistake, and I wanted to teach you guys a lesson about making your characters and shaping their backstories. I got lucky here because this mistake actually gives me something to use, but not everyone will be that lucky, and I don't know that I'll catch a break like this again. Before you decide to introduce an influential character, make sure they were't already introduced, and if they were, remember HOW and why they are significant. Otherwise you end up with snafus like this. Oopsies!

In fact, I actually had quite a solid timeline that doesn't match up with this...I've got my work cut out for me, BUT I WILL MAKE IT WORK!

Anyway, so this turned out to be a plot-like chapter. You wanna weigh in on this conversation? Do you think the Reapers are serving Yveltal, or are they just delusional because let's face it, Yveltal's a big bird, I'm sure it can handle killing everything in sight just fine on it's own.

I guess we won't really know until later.

See you guys in 32!


End file.
